THE family of a woman suffering from a debilitating illness claim she has been left to ‘left to rot’ in a nursing home bed.

Libby Meyers, 62, from Statton, near Dorchester, was diagnosed with ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, 10 years ago and her condition rapidly deteriorated.

She has been bedridden for the last eight years and is currently a resident at Chestnut House Nursing Home in Charlton Down.

ME, or myalgic encephalomyelitis, is a condition characterised by prolonged periods of fatigue coupled with headaches and muscle pain.

Her family wants her to receive specialist treatment at a clinic in Essex, but NHS Dorset has refused to fund the treatment.

The treatment is £90,000 for a six month programme, but NHS Dorset has recently agreed to pay nearly £50,000 a year for Mrs Meyers nursing home care – an offer the family say they are grateful for.

Before this the family had been privately funding the nursing home care. Mrs Meyers’s husband and children have appealed the funding decision three times and each time they have been denied.

They have been told they cannot appeal the decision again.

Mrs Meyers daughter Fiona, 40, said: “We are devastated that we cannot appeal again.

“They have left her to rot. We shouldn’t have to go to the media but we have no other options.

“I just don’t think they really understand the case. They haven’t met with us; it’s all been done by letters.

“It’s been so frustrating I just can’t describe it.”

NHS Dorset has now referred Mrs Meyers back to local services. She has already been assessed in 2003, 2007 and 2009 and the local services concluded that they were unable to provide treatment for her.

Fiona said: “Dorset NHS have referred mum back to local services without first ensuring that it is feasible for them to treat her locally.

“They have not provided any treatment for her following her last assessment when her case was archived.”

She added: “It is a postcode lottery, patients from Wiltshire and Hampshire are in the clinic at the moment.

“I feel NHS Dorset don’t understand the case. 98 per cent of people with ME are not this bad. This is an exceptional case. It’s left mum very distressed.

“They have let her down totally.”

A spokesman for NHS Dorset said that they could not talk about Mrs Meyers individual case because of confidentiality issues but said that they were working with the family to address their concerns.