* Caution – This article contains a report of the medical condition and treatment of a person with severe ME*
My body cannot take even a shred more of this. I’m not physically able to continue, I am so weak, starving, in agony, forgetting things, confused, slow heart rate, can’t regain consciousness. I’m dying.
Savannah Victora-May via a Friend (Sunday Times)
The Sunday Times (paywall) on 15th February 2025 carried an article entitled ‘My body can take no more, says ME patient starving in hospital’ concerning the plight of 23 year old Savannah Victora-May who has, according to the article, been an inpatient at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, for the past 10 months.
Ms Victora-May has severe ME and became ill aged 15 after contracting glandular fever; is in severe pain, drifting in and out of consciousness; and being unable to eat or drink has “… lost 30 kg since her admission in March and has eaten nothing since January 18.”
Her situation was highlighted by Tessa Munt MP when she raised the matter in the House of Commons on 5th February 2026, asking for an “urgent update” on a specialised NHS services.
A young woman, Savannah Victora-May, is in a critical condition due to very severe ME, compounded by inadequate treatment in hospital, where she has been for 11 months, since March last year. One of the few and welcome commitments from the Government’s final delivery plan for ME was to explore whether a specialised service for very severe ME should be prescribed by the Secretary of State. The ministerial foreword acknowledged that avoidable deaths of people with ME should “become never events”, but in the continued absence of specialist provision, it is difficult to see how situations like Savannah’s can be prevented from recurring. Will the Leader of the House request an urgent update on any progress made in respect of this commitment and on when a recommendation will be made?
The Leader of the House (Sir Alan Campbell)’s response failed to capture the desperate nature of the case when he replied “It is distressing to learn of Savannah’s situation. I am sure the House wishes her well. I am pleased that the hon. Lady welcomes Government action on these matters, but if she wishes to explore what more can be done, I can arrange for her a meeting with the relevant Minister.”
Apart from the commitments in the ME/CFS Delivery Plan where even the Ministerial Foreword recorded Ashley Dalton MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention’s promise “I am painfully aware of patient safety concerns, and even tragically avoidable deaths of people with ME/CFS, in England. These must become never events. There are also inequalities in service provision that need to be addressed.” There appears to be little concrete progress on the care of those most severely affected by ME.
This commitment, in turn, reflected the Assistant Coroner’s Report to Future Deaths in respect of the death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill who died on 3rd October 2021 and her Concern finding that “During the course of the evidence it became clear that there were no specialist hospitals or hospices, beds, wards or other health care provision in England for patients with severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).” However, NHS England’s statutory response was hardly illuminating and Ms Victora-May’s suffering is seen by many as evidence of inaction.
NHS Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust which run the Queen Elizabeth Hospital state
We refute the allegations that our hospital is providing poor care. On the contrary, we have a multi-disciplinary team working together diligently and holistically to care for this patient and to protect their best interests. This team has sought regular advice from other specialists within our hospital, as well as multiple external medical experts in ME, following Nice guidance wherever relevant.”
