Very Severe ME patient 23 year-old Savannah Victora-May is at risk of death in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Woolwich, London.

Savannah is being denied appropriate fluids, nutrition and most critically right now, pain relief.

Multiple ME expert clinicians and national charity chiefs have offered the hospital guidelines for safer care. However, her medical team remains intransigent. There’s no other hospital she can transfer into where she’s guaranteed better treatment, and despite huge efforts on Savannah’s part to arrange access to palliative care in a hospice, QEH refused to facilitate a transfer.

Having exhausted all other avenues, we are setting up a fundraiser for Savannah to cover supplementary medical treatment costs, including private pain management, a syringe driver and ME-literate nursing support to try and arrest her decline and prevent death from organ failure. Donations may also be used for legal costs around hospital negligence. If there are any funds left over, they will be passed on via mutual aid to other Severe ME sufferers in crisis situations.

Savannah’s current situation at Queen Elizabeth Hospital:

Since March 2025, Savannah has been an inpatient at QEH. Throughout her stay, clinical staff have subjected her to a litany of dangerous and abusive care decisions including:

Neglecting to clean her Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) line for weeks, resulting in blockage, and putting her at risk of infection.

Violently removing sensory protections and ridiculing her use of a blackout tent.

Essentially starving her after withdrawing, in the week before Christmas, a vital anti-histamine medication that had allowed her to tolerate nutrition via NJ tube for the past 7 years. She has only managed morsels since. At the time of writing, Savannah’s last meal was 5 chips, 12 days ago. Eating or drinking orally causes her to pass out with pain.

Refusal to implement TPN (total parenteral nutrition) - despite an ME expert advising this as something she needs urgently as she is now experiencing gastric collapse.

Removing her fluids for days and causing significant decline through the cruel effects of dehydration.

Repeated visits by a psychiatrist interrogating her about her childhood and dismissing the biological neuroimmune basis of ME.

Relentless unnecessary interactions that are keeping her in a dangerous downward spiral of rolling PEM (post exertional malaise) and pain.

Read more about how QEH’s ‘care’ is putting Savannah’s life at serious risk here and here.

Savannah has high hopes for her future, that include A-Levels, university and becoming a doctor. But as it stands, QEH is failing even to stabilise her. Right now, we are witnessing her endure a slow and excruciating death via dehydration and malnutrition without pain relief. As people living with post-viral disease the world over are painfully aware, it wouldn’t be the first time a hospital has killed a Severe ME patient through hubris and negligence. Please someone ask them to google the Semmelweis reflex.

If you are in a position to donate or share this GoFundMe, please show your solidarity with Savannah and your belief in the suffering of the Very Severe in the NHS, and give her a chance to achieve the brighter future she deserves.

Background on the organisers:

Sam Pearce has written for The Sick Times about her work campaigning with the Severe ME Advocacy Group (SMEAG) and represents the Severe on the strategic leadership board of the World ME Alliance. She is also the co-founder of SICK Pride in South Africa (IG: @sick pride_sa).

Michiel Van Zanten is a volunteer from ME Action Scotland (https://bsky.app/profile/murtoz.bsky.social)

Hannah Sharland is a journalist with ME who works at The Canary highlighting stories of people with Severe ME (IG: @hannahasharland).

Rachel Spalding is also a member of SMEAG, but based in UK (IG: @memyselfandmyalgice) - Rachel will be administering the funds and making payments because Savannah is currently too weak.

Savannah Victora-May (IG: @savannahinsoftbloom) has expressed her wish that, once she is transferred from QEH to safety, any remaining funds should be passed on via mutual aid to other people suffering SevereMErgency.

PAYMENTS MADE SO FAR (invoices available on request):

12th Feb Scott-Moncrieff & Associates solicitors (2 hours) £720

16th Feb Scott-Moncrieff & Associates solicitors (3 hours) £1080

25th Feb Harley Street Ambulance Service (across London) £785

25th Feb Scott-Moncrieff & Associates solicitors (2 hours) £720

27th Feb Trans Euro Ambulance service (to Devon) £1295

27th Feb Nevra GoFundMe £100

27th Feb Mari GoFundMe £100

27th Feb Nafas Paypal £100

2nd March Rosemil Care £755

5th March Trans Euro Ambulance service (supplementary waiting time) £150

5th March Scott-Moncrieff & Associates solicitors (4 hours) £1500

18th March Savannah medical and mobility aids £500

23rd March Savannah's cousin travel expenses to Devon £422

25th March Dr Weir consultancy day visit fee £750

21st April Savannah's mother expenses £373

29th April 25% Group membership to enable advocacy support £20

7th May local support volunteer L.A. expenses £34

5th June Nevra GoFundMe £250

5th June Mari GoFundMe £250

5th June Nafas Paypal £250

5th June Daryna GoFundMe £250

5th June transaction fees £15

21st June local support volunteer C.B. expenses £74

25th June balance £9045 transferred to Savannah's cousin to facilitate direct payments for housing deposit, legal fees, 2 private medical consultants, Savannah's food deliveries etc

27th Feb Please note, we would like to make it clear that, as was stated at the outset, the SevereMErgency bank account was set up to benefit Savannah and other multiply marginalised people with Severe ME in crisis situations, and it is independently managed by Rachel Spalding of SMEAG. In February, as well as paying for legal fees, a private ambulance and carer costs for Savannah, on the recommendations of the Severe ME Advocacy Group, £100 each has been donated to:

Nevra: Pakistani DV survivor with Very Severe ME in an ongoing health crisis https://gofund.me/b196b5243

Mari: Multiply marginalised person with Severe ME trying to escape caregiver abuse https://gofund.me/7135be274

Nafas: Multiply marginalised person with Very Severe ME, deteriorating rapidly paypal.com/pool/9kAhhZf0iN

In June, another £250 x 4 were donated to mutual aid of the above plus:

Daryna: Ukranian Very Severe ME and MG patient to enable her evacuation to Germany https://gofund.me/7f6f8dc74