UK social enterprise ME Foggy Dog is using the occasion of World Patient Safety Day 2026 to bring attention to the urgent need for improvements in the safety and quality of care for individuals living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E). With this year’s World Health Organization theme of “Safe Care for Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs),” ME Foggy Dog is highlighting the global need for safer and more coordinated care for long-term conditions. Despite being a noncommunicable disease, individuals with M.E in the UK continue to face challenges in receiving safe, coordinated, and effective care.
Noncommunicable diseases are responsible for a significant portion of global illness, disability, and premature mortality. Individuals living with M.E experience many of the same difficulties as other NCD groups, such as long-term symptoms, complex care needs, multiple healthcare interactions, and a high risk of harm when care is not well-coordinated. However, M.E is often overlooked in NHS planning and patient safety strategies.
Through their ongoing work on the NHS protocol and NHS Charter, ME Foggy Dog has identified widespread breaches in the care provided to individuals with M.E. These include delayed diagnosis, harmful management advice, a lack of specialist pathways, exclusion of patients and their families from decision-making, and poor communication. These failures not only pose serious patient safety risks but also violate the NHS Charter’s rights to safe, effective, timely, and respectful care.
“Unsafe M.E care is avoidable harm,” said Sally Callow, founder of ME Foggy Dog. “Individuals with M.E deserve the same safety protections as every other NCD group. The NHS already has the necessary tools and standards to provide safe care for M.E, what is lacking is implementation.”
ME Foggy Dog is calling for the adoption of M.E-specific NHS safety protocols, the implementation of their M.E-Friendly Hospital Charter in the NHS across all nations of the UK, mandatory M.E training for clinicians, national M.E care standards aligned with the NHS Charter, recognition of M.E as an NCD within patient safety frameworks, and meaningful involvement of individuals with M.E and their families in care design.
As the world reflects on patient safety challenges, ME Foggy Dog urges the NHS to take immediate action to prevent further avoidable harm and ensure that individuals with M.E receive the safe, person-centred care they are entitled to.
