Boost psychiatric workforce to reduce eating disorder wait times, ministers urged

The college says that since 2017, there has been a 30 per cent increase in vacant or unfilled consultant posts in England, with child and adolescent psychiatry, as well as eating disorders psychiatry showing the highest number of vacancies.

It adds that across England every region is failing to meet the government’s target for 95 per cent of urgent and routine patients to be seen within one and four weeks respectively, after referral.

• Call for more training to identify eating disorders in children earlier

• Plan to boost mental wellbeing

It notes that a “postcode lottery” of funding for services “could determine how quickly you’re seen” despite the number of children and young people receiving urgent and routine care increasing by 66 per cent and 48 per cent respectively since 2019.

In London, children and young people face having the shortest waiting time in the country for urgent referrals, but the longest waiting time for routine referrals.  

The college’s analysis reveals that funding in the capital for eating disorder services for young people is being cut by 2.6 per cent compared with 2019 levels, the equivalent of £300k.

Dr Agnes Ayton, chair of the eating disorder faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “It’s simply not acceptable that waiting times have increased when we are seeing record levels of referrals for children and young people. This is a warning that we gave three years ago and it beggars belief that nothing has changed.

“Admissions have been sharply rising since even before the pandemic, under-19’s now account for 30 per cent of hospital stays for eating disorders, with no sign of abating.

“We know that delays cause patients to become even more unwell, with potentially life-threatening consequences. Overstretched services are already struggling to meet demand, so how can we continue to subject these children and young people to a postcode lottery?”

To mark Eating Disorders Awareness Week (27 February to 5 March), the college is calling on the government to “provide adequate investment into the recruitment and retention of the psychiatric workforce, as part of the forthcoming NHS Workforce Plan”.

Experts say this should include an increase in medical school places to 15,000 by 2028/29, with priority for shortage specialties and support for NHS trusts to meet an annual four per cent improvement target in retaining mental health staff.