Lothians waiting list for eating disorders the worst in Scotland
Officials worried children being missed due to big NHS backlogs
Statistics from Scotland’s 14 health boards has revealed nearly 400 adults are waiting for eating disorder treatment – with NHS Lothian being by far the worst affected health board.
Hundreds of Scottish adults and dozens of children have been left waiting for eating disorder treatment on the NHS, new figures have revealed.
Freedom of Information requests to Scotland’s 14 health boards have revealed that at least 25 children are waiting for treatment for an eating disorder, with the majority in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.
Ten under-18s are awaiting treatment in Glasgow, while seven are waiting in NHS Highland. Five are waiting in Ayrshire and Arran, while two need treatment in Tayside.
In the Scottish Borders, the NHS health board responded there were ‘less than five’ children awaiting treatment. For the total of 25, we have treated this figure as one. The other health boards have no children on eating disorder waiting lists.
The numbers are worse for adults, with nearly 400 people sitting on waiting lists.
In NHS Lothian, 203 people are awaiting treatment – the largest number by far.
They are followed by NHS Grampian (38), NHS Highland (32), NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (23), Ayrshire and Arran (15), Dumfries and Galloway (11), Tayside (10), Borders (5) and Western Isles (1). The other health boards had zero patients on eating disorder waiting lists or, in the case of NHS Orkney, are treated on the mainland.
Scottish Conservative MSP Maurice Golden said this was “an extremely serious situation that needs to be urgently addressed”.
“People with eating disorders cannot be kept on waiting lists for lengthy periods of time, it’s a pressing situation which often needs an immediate intervention,” he said. “Hundreds of lives are, at best, being put on hold, and at worst being put in serious danger.”
“But ultimately the Scottish Government is in sole charge of health and needs to act decisively to sort out this unacceptable situation.”
According to the Beat eating disorders charity, an estimated 1.25 million people in the UK suffer from eating disorders. Studies suggest up to 25 per cent of people with eating disorders are male.
Responding to the figures, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We have allocated £48.6 million to boards this year to improve the quality and delivery of mental health and psychological services for all.
"We have made good progress responding to the short-term recommendations made by the National Review, including establishing an Eating Disorder Lived Experience Panel, developing a National Specification for the Care and Treatment of Eating Disorders in Scotland, and working to establish the National Network for Eating Disorders to support us in delivering the remaining long-term recommendations.”