The charity Beat has published new figures which estimate that 1 in 20 people are now affected by an eating disorder. The data suggests that eating disorders are more common the previously believed.
Responding to the announcement, Dr Ashish Kumar, Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Faculty of Eating Disorders, said:
"This new analysis adds to the growing evidence that eating disorders are affecting more people in England and we are extremely concerned by this rise. Too many patients face long waits for assessments and treatment, resulting in their illness worsening over time and potentially requiring intensive care. We know that when we see patients quickly their chances of recovery are higher and their outcomes are better. Eating disorders are serious, but they are treatable, and increased awareness and training focussed on eating disorders, including greater uptake of MEED guidelines by all services, will help with this.
“It is vital that this troubling situation be addressed. Services need sustained investment so that they can expand and provide more patients with the timely and effective care they need. In order to achieve this, there needs to be more investment for both adult and children's eating disorder services and, importantly, funds allocated for eating disorder services need to reach the frontline and be used for this purpose. One in five eating disorder consultant psychiatrist posts are vacant in England and so this funding will need to be backed by an expansion of the mental health workforce."
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