Eating disorders in children double in eight years

The number of children being treated for an eating disorder has doubled over the past eight years, with some waiting more than a year for treatment, NHS data has revealed.

In the past school year there were 10,606 children beginning treatment for an eating disorder, compared with 5,240 patients in 2016-17.

Waiting times for treatment are rising, with 12 per cent waiting more than three months for an appointment, compared with 1 per cent three years ago, according to information disclosed by the House of Commons Library. It is three times longer than the NHS waiting times standard, which states that children should wait no longer than four weeks for treatment to commence and no longer than one week following an urgent referral.

However, some are waiting for more than a year. The longest time that a patient spent on the waiting list to receive treatment for their eating disorder was 378 days at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, according to data uncovered by Freedom of Information requests submitted by the Liberal Democrats.

The Lib Dems are pushing to establish walk-in mental health hubs for young people in every community and mental health professionals in every primary and secondary school.

Hope Virgo, a mental health campaigner who survived anorexia and founded the DumpTheScales campaign, said many medical professionals do not believe children when they come for help. “Through my campaigning every day I hear more and more stories of young people and adults being diagnosed with eating disorders and unable to get support,” she said. “People with eating disorders are often being told they are not sick enough for treatment and by the time they come back for support, they are told they are too sick.”

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Source: The Times, 19 August 2024

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