Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33002 by Jenni Minto on 21 January 2025, what action the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care has taken, or plans to take, to ensure that learning outcomes on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) have been embedded into the curriculum of Scottish medical schools, and what the timetable is for any such future action.
Ensuring people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are supported is a priority for this Government. Whilst the Member will be aware that the responsibility for the content and delivery of undergraduate medical education rests with individual medical schools, the Scottish Government funded development of an educational resource on ME/CFS. The resource was reviewed by the Scottish Deans Medical Education Group (now LUMES) who advised that integrating ME/CFS learning outcomes across existing teaching better aligns with current educational approaches than introducing separate stand-alone modules.
LUMES has advised that ME/CFS learning outcomes will be incorporated within broader teaching on areas such as:
• General practice;
• Neurology;
• Chronic conditions;
• Person-centred care;
• Clinical assessment and diagnosis.
This reflects the approach used for many other conditions within undergraduate medical education. More generally the General Medical Council (GMC) sets the overarching standards and outcomes for graduates through Outcomes for Graduates. Individual medical schools determine how learning outcomes are delivered within this framework.