Dr Richard Schloeffel (retired) OAM has recently retired from medical practice and stepped down as Emerge Australia’s Medical Director.
Appointed at the beginning of 2022, Dr Schloeffel dedicated his time as Medical Director to the clinical education of GPs and advancing awareness of ME/CFS both within the medical community and Government. In his time with us, Dr Schloeffel attended six GPCE events and delivered clinical education to over 1,000 GPs both online and in person. He has also been interviewed on diverse media outlets countless times, drawing on his deep knowledge of ME/CFS to push for greater access to safe and effective care for patients, including for our much-awaited new clinical guidelines.
I’ve enjoyed so many highs in my 46-year career. I’ve learnt a great deal about the human condition and have had many great mentors to help me provide evidence-based care, especially for the over six thousand people with ME/CFS in my practice. Yes, there have been career lows including seeing these thousands of people have their life opportunities taken away from them.
GP education is critical and most GPs are hardworking, very compassionate people. Yes there are some who aren’t with gaslighting and so on, but my experience is that most want to provide effective pathways to diagnosis and treatment. Yes, we need to train medical undergraduates in ME/CFS – it hardly gets a mention and yet so many are experiencing the condition. But with such a delay in diagnosis – evidence is six to ten years before a diagnosis is achieved – it’s critical to educate GPs in evidence based diagnosis and treatment in ME/CFS.
In regard to research, in my view the two things we lack are – what triggers ME/CFS at the cell level; and what are the mechanisms in the body that lead to the symptoms and co-morbidities in the condition?
I’m now working in three key research projects where I think I can make a significant impact for people with ME/CFS.
- Righteous belief is not evidence – it leads to negligent practice.
- For every patient listening to this – you are totally believed – you have a pathological biological condition that is driving your ME/CFS.
- I am committed to finding out what is happening in your cells – to find the scientific evidence as to why you are sick so we can find the way forward towards diagnosis, treatment and even cure.
To all you politicians out there, you need to listen to your constituency. You all have ME/CFS patients in your electorate – you have a responsibility to them – money needs to be put through to fund the things that are necessary to support patients with MECFS – for example pensions, clinics, clinician training and an umbrella through the health department that drives all of this as a special urgent need condition. You can’t have 250k Australians with the condition – that’s over half a million people who are impacted and not do this. What other condition that has half a million people impacted doesn’t get properly supported?
To all patients listening – I believe there’s been a change happening over the past three years and Emerge is leading the charge. I realise you are suffering, can feel alone and abandoned. It’s really important that you know you are seen and heard. For the rest of my life I will do everything in my power to change this paradigm so you are supported and treated, and you all have access to an effectively trained GP in ME/CFS diagnosis, treatment and management.
We are delighted to share Emerge Australia Ambassador Bloom with her rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine to open and close our podcasts.
