Eating disorders jumped during the pandemic

THE number of young people treated for eating disorders in Staffordshire increased during the pandemic.

The NHS is urging young people and their families to seek help for concerns, with the rise potentially driven by the disruption and unpredictability of the pandemic.

There were around 159 children aged 18 and under living in the CCGS covering Staffordshire treated for an eating disorder in 2021.

That was a 246 per cent rise from around 46 treated in 2020, according to the figures from NHS England.

The number had also risen from pre-pandemic levels – with around 69 treated in 2019 – to its highest level in five years, up from 12 in 2017.

Of those treated, around 26 were treated as urgent cases, up from eight in 2020, and two in 2017.

In 2021, 88 per cent of the urgent cases started treatment within the target of one week, compared to 100 per cent in 2020, and 50 per cent in 2017.

The other 133 cases were routine or nonurgent (based on doctor assessments), of which 76 per cent were treated with the target of four weeks.

That was down from 97 per cent in 2020, and from 100 per cent in 2017.

Across England, 12,566 young people were treated for eating disorders in 2021.

That was up by 29 per cent compared to 9,758 in 2020 and the highest number in five years, compared to 6,497 in 2017.

The number of children treated urgently rose from 2,006 to 2,758, but the proportion starting treatment within a week dropped to 63 per cent, the lowest proportion since at least 2017.Similarly, the number starting routine treatment rose from 7,752 to 9,808 but the percentage getting help within four weeks fell from 86 per cent to 69 per cent.

Professor Prathiba Chitsabesan, a psychiatrist and NHS associate clinical director for children and young people’s mental health, advised young people and their loved ones to use trusted online resources if they had concerns and wanted to seek help.

Professor Chitsabesan added some of the signs to look out for included behaviours such as making rules about what or how they eat, eating a restricted range of foods or having a negative self-image about weight.