Latest analysis by the royal college has found there was a 90 per cent rise in the number of children and young people aged 18 and under admitted to hospital with an eating disorder between 2015/16 and 2020/21 (see graphics). Hospital admissions among boys and young men saw the largest increase of 128 per cent.
A lack of awareness of eating disorders among healthcare professionals in primary care and emergency departments is a factor in problems in young people failing to be identified sooner, according to the royal college. To address this it has produced new guidance for frontline staff “so that people with eating disorders needing urgent care can be identified and treated earlier”.
Dispelling myths
Dr Dasha Nicholls, who chaired the development of the medical emergencies in eating disorders guidelines, says: “Our guidance encourages healthcare professionals to spot when someone is dangerously ill and dispel the myths surrounding them. They remain poorly understood with devastating consequences for thousands of patients and their families.
“If we are to stop the eating disorders epidemic in its tracks, it’s vital that this guidance reaches healthcare professionals urgently and that government backs them with the necessary resources.”
The guidance provides advice on assessing all eating disorders that can lead a patient into a state of clinical emergency, and how to manage their physical, nutritional and psychiatric care. To aid decisions on emergency management in cases involving people with an eating disorder, the document provides a risk-assessment tool using a traffic light system.
Eating disorders charity Beat has previously raised concerns about the lack of awareness of the problem among clinicians and how this is affecting care. It points to the lack of training currently provided to medical students on the issue – the average trainee receives just two hours throughout their degree – while a fifth of medical schools provide no training on it.
A survey carried out by the charity earlier this year found that 69 per cent people with an eating disorder felt that their GP did not know how to help them. Two-thirds said opportunities to identify their eating disorder were missed, half said they would have sought help sooner if they’d had greater confidence in the response from healthcare professionals and 92 per cent thought their GP would benefit from more training on it. Survey respondents reported being told that they were not “underweight enough” to get treatment, feeling afraid they would not be taken seriously and that opportunities to detect their eating disorder were missed.
Latest NHS data also shows that more young people are waiting for treatment when they are diagnosed. At the end of March 2022, there were 1,946 children and young people waiting for treatment, three-and-a-half times more than in March 2020. Almost 40 per cent have waited more than three months.
Tom Quinn, Beat director of external affairs says the pandemic has had a “devastating impact” on young people with eating disorders.
“We’ve seen more people ask for help with a first-time eating disorder, worsening symptoms for those with an existing eating disorder, and relapses for others who were in recovery,” he says. “Accessing quality treatment as soon as possible offers the best chance of recovery from an eating disorder.”
FURTHER READING
-
Royal College of Psychiatrist guidance for frontline staff, May 2022
-
Waiting times data, April 2022, NHS Digital
- Hospital admissions of eating disorders data, NHS Digital, October 2021
