Eating disorders among under-18s soared in lockdown, psychiatrists warn

THE number of children and young people with an eating disorder has soared to “crisis” point during lockdown, a psychiatry body has warned.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists (Rcpsych) in Scotland said figures obtained through Freedom of Information show there were 217 referrals for eating disorders in children and young people under the age of 18 in 2018/19.

This increased to 456 in 2019/20 and in 2020/21 almost tripled on the earlier figure to 615 referrals.

Rcpsych in Scotland said an emphasis on virtual appointments, loss of support structures, staffing shortages and less access to community services because of Covid-19 has fuelled the crisis.

The College is calling on Scotland’s new minister for mental wellbeing, Kevin Stewart, to ensure new funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) also covers young people with eating disorders.

Rob Donaldson’s 17-year-old daughter is currently being treated at a young person’s unit after being diagnosed with an eating disorder in 2019.

The anorexia sufferer was first admitted to hospital in April 2020, shortly after lockdown began, having struggled to cope when her weekly face-to-face treatment was moved online due to the pandemic.

Mr Donaldson, from Dundee, said: “We were receiving outpatient care at home, and attending weekly family-based therapy sessions, but all of a sudden that stopped. Therapy took place on video calls, and it simply did not work for her.

“There was nothing to motivate her to eat, without school and being isolated at home all day, the illness thrived. Within a few weeks of lockdown, she quickly deteriorated and was admitted to an inpatient unit for young people.

“This was a huge shock for us all and during the early days of the pandemic as we were not allowed to see her for three weeks.”

His daughter was well enough to come home by late summer but by mid-november was very ill again and was admitted to a specialist young person’s unit in Glasgow, more than 100 miles from home.

He said: “I have some hope, that as we ease out of lockdown, there will be more reasons to fight and make some steps towards recovery, like getting back to school, learning to drive and going out with family and friends.”