Calls for overhaul of eating disorder treatment - as sufferers 'failed' by care
A new report from All Party Parliamentary Group on Eating Disorders is urging for more research into prevention, diagnosis and treatment outcomes.
A cross-party committee's calling for an overhaul for eating disorder treatment, as it warns patients are being 'failed' by care.
A report from All Party Parliamentary Group APPG on Eating Disorders is calling it "one of the largest treatment gaps in modern healthcare".
It's now urging for a funding boost to go towards research into prevention, diagnosis and treatment outcomes, as well as calling for a national strategy for eating disorders for both adults and young people.
Molly McKnight, from Chichester, was diagnosed with atypical anorexia after displaying all symptoms apart from an extremely low body weight.
She told Greatest Hits Radio that her treatment plan, which focused on gaining weight and included measuring food portions rather than her mental health, pushed her deeper into disordered eating:
"I wasn't really too concerned over figures before I was diagnosed.
"I was struggling more with food rules and habits, and weight wasn't really a thing of it. "But when they started to introduce weights and numbers, that became a new obsession."
She admitted it also made her worried that by gaining weight, she'd miss out on the support she needed:
"I often found that if the weight was going up, that was showing that I wasn't struggling thart much and that I didn't need help."
"But in reality, as the weight was going up, I needed more help, and more support."
Hope Virgo, campaigner and Secretariat of the APPG, said: “Over the last few years, the situation for those affected by eating disorders has worsened.
"People are being denied treatment for being ‘too thin,’ ‘too sick,’ ‘not sick enough,’ or are being labelled ‘untreatable,’ despite clear evidence that people with eating disorders can and do recover.
"The fact that individuals are being discharged with BMIs under 15 is absolutely unacceptable and a complete injustice. "We are sending people home to die.
"The question we must ask is: why, in the face of overwhelming need, are we still ignoring this crisis?”
Anyone worried about a family member is encouraged to contact eating disorder charity Beat.