Specialist Treatment for Children & Young People with Fatigue |
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About the Fatigue Service
About the Paediatric Specialist Fatigue Service
UK national and local Fatigue treatment
The Paediatric Specialist Fatigue Service is based at the Royal United Hospital, Bath. We provide assessment, diagnosis and management strategies for children and young people with fatigue, aged between 2 and 18 years old.
The team comprises specialist Consultant Paediatricians and Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists. Our appointments can be delivered remotely via a secure NHS platform (‘DrDoctor’), or in-person at the hospital in Bath.
Note: We accept referrals from across the UK.
Why choose us?
Disabling fatigue is common after infections (as in Post COVID-19 Syndrome) or in long-term conditions (cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, etc). Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgic Encephalomylopathy (ME/CFS) is also relatively common in children, affecting at least 1% of teenagers. ME/CFS is probably the largest cause of long-term absence from school. Despite this, there are very few teams in the UK who specialise in seeing children with long-term disabling fatigue. We offer specialist individualised treatment tailored for children, adolescents and their families.
Clinical Experts
Our team sees over 500 children with chronic fatigue each year and provide a specialist service for the assessment, diagnosis and management for any child or young person who has chronic fatigue and needs help.
We have particular expertise in helping and supporting children who are severely affected, as well as children whose case may be complicated by more than one problem. Following the COVID-19 pandemic we have developed expertise in managing Post COVID-19 Syndrome and we welcome referrals for children and young people that have fatigue as part of their presentation.
Outcomes for children and young people with fatigue who access specialist support are good. We tailor the care and support plans to each individual’s goals, helping young people to understand and manage their symptoms, whilst working towards (re)gaining the things that matter to them.
Evidence Based Treatment
We are committed to offering evidence based treatment. Our service offers assessment, diagnosis and management strategies in line with the NICE guidelines (2021) for the management of chronic fatigue in children and young people.
We believe that all clinical care should have an evidence base. We therefore only offer treatment that has been recommended by NICE. The service has close links with the University of Bristol, which conducts research into chronic fatigue in children and young people. This means that all the treatment offered by the clinical team is based on the most up-to-date research results.
We offer holistic assessment and personalised care and support plans, developed together with the young person with ME/CFS and their family or carers. This includes exploring energy management, physical functioning and mobility, education support needs, managing symptoms and flare-ups, and supporting psychological and emotional well-being.
Award Winning Service!
One of our excellent team providing care within the Paediatric Fatigue Treatment Service was awarded the RUH Chief Executive's Customer Care award in December 2018. They were nominated by the parents of a young person they had worked with over a two-year period. The Staff Recognition Committee was impressed by their dedication and kindness, and noted that their support to the young person and family was obviously greatly appreciated. The family described our team member as providing support when they were low and the praise they all needed to help beat the illness.
Current Research Activity
We are currently running a number of research studies, which include:
GEM (for ages 8-17) – We want to test whether 2 rare genetic diseases are found in ME/ CFS patients. If you would like to find out more, please click here.
POMME (for ages 8-18) – We want to test a new short questionnaire with ME/ CFS patients. If you would like to find out more, please click here.
SUPERWATCH (for ages 7-11 years) – We would like your help with designing a smartwatch to help with your fatigue. If you would like to find out more, please click here.
Our service featured in mainstream media
FITNET-NHS Clinical Trial featured in national media (November 2016)
Case Notes BBC Radio 4 (2007)
As part of a series of programmes on BBC Radio 4 looking at this condition, Case Notes presenter Dr Mark Porter accompanied Professor Crawley in her clinic to find out more about Chronic Fatigue and meet some of the children who have been affected by this condition.
You can listen to the Case Notes programme on the Radio 4 website.