BELLE and Sebastian singer Stuart Murdoch says ME patients are treated like “ghosts” as he backed a campaign for more funding into the condition.
There is no cure for the debilitating illness, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, which causes pain, exhaustion and sleep problems.
About 21,000 people in Scotland are thought to have the condition and the ME Action network is calling for more research funding.
NHS Scotland has just one dedicated ME nurse, with only four out of 14 health boards providing a specialist service to those with the syndrome.
Rows of empty shoes were placed in front of the Scottish Parliament yesterday to represent those who are “missing” from daily life as a result of the problem.
Murdoch, who has the condition, said: “We are ghosts, us ME people. Disregarded, ignored, and at worse not believed. It doubles the burden. We are sick, but you do not see we are sick. We cluster with each other for help and support, like urban lepers.
“All we want is to get better. All we want is to prove that we are worth something. Funding, research, dedicated rehabilitation programmes – these could be the key to the door for so many.
“We’re not going away. It really would be cheaper to try to make us better.”
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