Eating Disorders: Health Services
(asked on 9th January 2018) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report of the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman, Ignoring the alarms: how NHS eating disorder services are failing patients, HC 634, what steps he is taking to address the gaps in provision of eating disorders specialists.
For children and young people aged between eight and 18 years, the Government is investing £150 million to expand eating disorder services and staff – with 70 new or enhanced services already in place.
The Government’s aim is for the National Health Service to meet the access and waiting time standard for children and young people with an eating disorder by 2020/21 so that 95% of children with an eating disorder will receive treatment within one week for urgent cases and within four weeks for routine cases. NHS England has published a Commissioning Guide that sets out its recommended staffing and training requirements for these services. This is available at:
We are on track to meet the eating disorders waiting time target. 68.7% of children and young people are currently being seen within one week and 78.9% within four weeks (against target of 95% for both by 2020/21).
For adults, NHS England is conducting a baseline audit to measure existing levels of investment, capacity and activity across inpatient and community services for adults with eating disorders.
NHS England will develop evidence based treatment pathways across mental health services over the next five years in line with the recommendations of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. NHS England is working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health to ensure that each pathway is fully informed by the available evidence and the views of experts by experience.