Eating disorders in children double in eight years

The number of children being treated for an eating disorder has doubled over the past eight years, with some waiting more than a year for treatment, NHS data has revealed.

In the past school year there were 10,606 children beginning treatment for an eating disorder, compared with 5,240 patients in 2016-17.

Waiting times for treatment are rising, with 12 per cent waiting more than three months for an appointment, compared with 1 per cent three years ago, according to information disclosed by the House of Commons Library. It is three times longer than the NHS waiting times standard, which states that children should wait no longer than four weeks for treatment to commence and no longer than one week following an urgent referral.

However, some are waiting for more than a year. The longest time that a patient spent on the waiting list to receive treatment for their eating disorder was 378 days at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, according to data uncovered by Freedom of Information requests submitted by the Liberal Democrats.

Previous research has found that girls are four times more likely to have an eating disorder than boys. The figures mirror the worsening performance for mental health more broadly, with waiting lists soaring since the pandemic as increasing numbers of children seek help.

Research by the King’s Fund, a think tank, found that of the 1.4 million children estimated to have a mental health disorder potentially requiring assessment and treatment, less than half (48 per cent) received at least one contact.

Medical experts and campaigners have warned that early intervention is particularly important when treating eating disorders because failure to act swiftly can lead to chronic illness and a wider mental health impact on families.

Girls are four times more likely to develop an eating disorder than boys

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The Lib Dems are pushing to establish walk-in mental health hubs for young people in every community and mental health professionals in every primary and secondary school.

Wera Hobhouse, a Lib Dem MP who chairs the eating disorders all-party parliamentary group, said improving access to mental health support and focusing on early intervention was essential to prevent worsening health for young people. She said: “Too many young people suffering from an eating disorder only get help when their eating disorder is so severe they need to be hospitalised. From there, recovery can take years.

“Early intervention should be our absolute focus in tackling this misery. Not just for preventing this unbearable suffering in the first place but also freeing up resources in the NHS by keeping people out of hospital and giving them stable lives in communities where they can thrive.

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“That’s why we want to make sure that every child has someone they can turn to for help with their mental health, from introducing a dedicated mental health professional in every school to establishing walk-in mental health hubs in every community. Through early intervention we can make sure children get the support they deserve before it is too late.”

Hope Virgo, a mental health campaigner who survived anorexia and founded the DumpTheScales campaign, said many medical professionals do not believe children when they come for help. “Through my campaigning every day I hear more and more stories of young people and adults being diagnosed with eating disorders and unable to get support,” she said.

“People with eating disorders are often being told they are not sick enough for treatment and by the time they come back for support, they are told they are too sick.”

Hope Virgo, who founded the DumpTheScales campaign, says the problem is compounded by children not being taken seriously by doctors when they ask for help

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Suzanne Baker, of the Faculty of Eating Disorders at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “These figures sadly reflect what we have been hearing on a day-to-day basis for quite some time: families are crying out for support when access to treatment is so hugely problematic.

“Eating disorders are treatable illnesses, with early intervention [and] evidence-based treatment being key for good outcomes. However, these figures show the shocking reality, one which increases the risk of chronic illness over a lengthy period of time.

“It is indescribable to understand the devastation to the whole family unit that being left with little to no medical support for such a sick child brings.”

According to the FOI responses, the waiting times for treatment of eating disorders have risen considerably in recent years. At Cornwall Partnership Foundation NHS Trust, the longest wait time for treatment in 2019 was 66 days, compared with 249 days in 2022 and 174 days last year. So far this year, children at some trusts have waited for as long as 175 days for treatment, having been assessed and diagnosed with an eating disorder.

In contrast, the longest time a patient spent waiting to begin treatment at Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust this year was 17 days.

Research by the King’s Fund found that 1.4 million children are estimated to have a mental health disorder

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Earlier this year the BBC revealed that some vulnerable children with eating disorders were being sent to live more than 100 miles from their families because of a shortage of beds in local specialist hospitals.

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An NHS spokesman said: “The number of referrals from young people for eating disorders has increased significantly in recent years and the NHS is clear that improving care for people with an eating disorder is vital.

“That’s why, since 2016, investment in children and young people’s community eating disorder services has risen every year, with an extra £54 million per year since last year to enhance the capacity of community eating disorder teams across the country.

“This extra support is in addition to rolling out hundreds of NHS mental health teams in schools to help improve early access to care.”