Centre for Reviews and Dissemination

The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) is based at the University of York, in the United Kingdom. The CRD is an independent unit of researchers, and regularly carry of systematic reviews of research and health technology assessments, which are used to inform the NICE Guideline Development Groups, and other NHS bodies.

ME/CFS NICE guidelines
Professor Malcolm Hooper states: "During the life of the Working Group, a systematic review of the literature was commissioned from the NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) by the Working Group; the CRD is based at the University of York and is a sibling of the UK Cochrane Centre (part of the international Cochrane Collaboration), whose Director at the time was Professor Iain Chalmers, who, with Simon Wessely, was a member of HealthWatch. Set up in 1994, the NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination aims to provide the NHS with important information on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of treatments and the delivery and organisation of healthcare and it plays an important role in disseminating politically correct information throughout the NHS. To no-one’s surprise, the CMO confirmed in writing that it was Wessely’s own database of over 3000 papers which formed the substance of that review upon which the CMO’s Report would depend for its “evidence”. The team which carried out the systematic review of the literature had another team to advise them, since none of them had any clinical experience of “CFS/ME”; again, to no-one’s surprise, the key adviser on this “advisory” team was Simon Wessely, assisted by Anthony Pinching and Christopher Clark. At the time, Clark was the new Chief Executive of the charity Action for ME, who on his own admission knew nothing whatever about either ME, CFS or about the literature. "

Notable studies

 * 2001, Interventions for the Treatment and Management of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - A Systematic Review (Full text)


 * 2002, The effectiveness of interventions used in the treatment/management of chronic fatigue syndrome and/or myalgic encephalomyelitis in adults and children. CRD Report 22. (Full text)


 * 2006, Interventions for the treatment, management and rehabilitation of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: an updated systematic review. CRD Report 35. (Summary)

York Review (2006)
The 2006 report from the Centre of Reviews and Dissemination became known as the York Review, and was extremely influential in the development of the 2007 NICE treatment guidelines for CFS/ME used by the NHS.

Criticism

 * 2003, THE MENTAL HEALTH MOVEMENT: PERSECUTION OF PATIENTS? A consideration of the role of Professor Simon Wessely and other members of the "Wessely School" in the perception of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) in the UK. Background Briefing for the House of Commons Select Health Committee. (Full text)


 * 2006, Inadequacy of the York (2005) Systematic Review of the CFS/ME Medical Evidence Base (Full text)

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