Increase funding for eating disorder treatment in the community and inpatient

There is a national crisis within services for eating disorders. No inpatient beds, not enough community clinicians and a backlog of referrals for people in urgent need of support.

There needs to be an overhaul of services and an increase of inpatient facilities in both child and adult settings.

Waiting lists for inpatient admissions are double that of last year and despite almost trebling since 2010, there has been no additional funding for specialist beds.

Early detection and treatment of EDs could save the NHS financially, from both avoidance of inpatient admission and from secondary health effects of the illness.

Government must - Increase funding into community & inpatient services. Increase ED training for all medical professionals. Increase the number of inpatient ED beds.

We recognise that eating disorder services are facing a sudden increased demand in referrals for children and young people's services. Eating disorders are serious, life-threatening conditions and NHS England and Improvement are working at pace to meet the challenge

This Government have set up the first waiting time standard for children and young people eating disorder services 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. Since 2016, extra funding (£30 million per year increased to £53 million from 2021/22) is going into children and young people's community eating disorder services every year, to continue to enhance the development of more than 70 new or improved community eating disorder teams covering the whole of the country, meaning more young people are getting the right support, at the right time, closer to home.

In addition, under the NHS Long Term Plan, by 2023/24, we will invest almost £1 billion extra in community mental health care for adults with severe mental illness, such as eating disorders. Local plans submitted to NHS England and Improvement indicate that at least 22 local areas are starting work to expand and transform their community eating disorder pathways for adults in line with published guidance in 2021/22, and all other areas are due to commence in 2022/23. A four-week waiting standard for adult community mental health services, including eating disorder services, is being piloted and considered as part of the clinically led review of NHS access standards. Further information on the definition of a potential standard will be shared in 2021/22.