Tuesday 4 February 2020

Baroness Parminter: The NHS is failing patients with eating disorders

Baroness Parminter: The NHS is failing patients with eating disorders Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses, affecting an estimated 1.25 million people in the UK. They are not a ‘diet gone wrong’ or a ‘lifestyle choice’. They can cripple lives and ultimately take them – anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. These devastating illnesses – which effect men, women and people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds – deserve better recognition and treatment.

If not caught early, like cancer, eating disorders are much harder to treat. While there is a national waiting time target for children and young people accessing services there is still no target for adults. A recent report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found that people with eating disorders can wait up to 41 months for treatment, with adults waiting on average 30% longer than under 18s. Politics Home

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