Six-month delays for eating disorder treatment

People suffering from eating disorders in England have to wait on average six months for treatment after seeing a GP, despite constant government pledges to improve mental health services, new research shows.

Ministers have been accused of allowing vital support for anorexia and bulimia sufferers to “slip back” after it emerged they are now waiting more than double the recommended time between being referred to specialist services and starting treatment.

A survey of 1,478 people referred to treatment in the 10 years to 2017 reveals that sufferers visit GPS on average three times before they get a referral for a specialist assessment, with an average of 11 weeks between their irst GP appointment and a referral.

The study, carried out by charity Beat, shows that once a referral is made, patients are waiting on average eight weeks for an assessment, and then another eight weeks for the treatment to begin - taking the total waiting time to half a year.

The indings indicate that the situation is signiicantly worse than previously thought, with analysis of NHS England igures earlier this year by Beat showing that just 10 per cent of patients had to wait longer than four weeks to start urgent treatment.

Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) state that GPS should refer someone for specialist assessment immediately “if an eating disorder is suspected after an initial assessment.”

Treatment for children and young people should start within a maximum of four weeks from irst contact with a designated healthcare professional for routine cases and within one week for urgent cases, the guidelines state.

Opposition politicians said the suffering of children and young people as a result of the delays was a “scandal” and urged the Tories to “snap out of their complacent attitude” towards mental health.

Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrats’ health spokesperson, told :“eating disorders can kill. What I ind extraordinary is we voted for parity of extreme in 2012, given that this is a condition that can kill and beyond those who actually lose their lives are many who go through real trauma.

“It beggars belief that we’re still no further forward with this, and indeed that we might even be slipping back. There’s some evidence of an increased prevalence, but if that’s the case then the NHS should be seeking to meet that.”