Increase funding for eating disorder treatment in the community and inpatient
This petition gathered 13,365 signatures between 8 February 2021 and 8 August 2021, according to the Parliament petitions site. The Government responded on 5 May 2021.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Increase funding for eating disorder treatment in the community and inpatient
There is a national crisis within services for eating disorders. No inpatient beds, not enough community clinicians and a backlog of referrals for people in urgent need of support.
There needs to be an overhaul of services and an increase of inpatient facilities in both child and adult settings.
Waiting lists for inpatient admissions are double that of last year and despite almost trebling since 2010, there has been no additional funding for specialist beds.
Early detection and treatment of EDs could save the NHS financially, from both avoidance of inpatient admission and from secondary health effects of the illness.
Government must -
Increase funding into community & inpatient services.
Increase ED training for all medical professionals.
Increase the number of inpatient ED beds.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 5 May 2021; the petitions site lists the Department of Health and Social Care as responsible. Its summary:
The Government is increasing funding into eating disorder services to address increased demand, working with arm-length bodies to ensure that people with eating disorders get the support they need.
The opening 363 words of the 718-word response:
We recognise that eating disorder services are facing a sudden increased demand in referrals for children and young people's services. Eating disorders are serious, life-threatening conditions and NHS England and Improvement are working at pace to meet the challenge
This Government have set up the first waiting time standard for children and young people eating disorder services so that 95% of children with an eating disorder will receive treatment within one week for urgent cases and within four weeks for routine cases. Since 2016, extra funding (£30 million per year increased to £53 million from 2021/22) is going into children and young people's community eating disorder services every year, to continue to enhance the development of more than 70 new or improved community eating disorder teams covering the whole of the country, meaning more young people are getting the right support, at the right time, closer to home.
In addition, under the NHS Long Term Plan, by 2023/24, we will invest almost £1 billion extra in community mental health care for adults with severe mental illness, such as eating disorders. Local plans submitted to NHS England and Improvement indicate that at least 22 local areas are starting work to expand and transform their community eating disorder pathways for adults in line with published guidance in 2021/22, and all other areas are due to commence in 2022/23. A four-week waiting standard for adult community mental health services, including eating disorder services, is being piloted and considered as part of the clinically led review of NHS access standards. Further information on the definition of a potential standard will be shared in 2021/22.
To support the early intervention for eating disorders NHSEI funded an additional 18 sites across the country to implement the First Episode Rapid Early intervention for Eating Disorders (FREED) model. FREED is an evidence-based early-intervention model, for people aged 16-25, presenting with a first episode of eating disorders that has lasted for less than three years. The FREED model advocates treatment within 2-4 weeks and aims to contact patients within 48 hours of referral. Evidence shows that this model reduces the waiting times for assessment and treatment and that patients experience better outcomes.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions.json?state=with_response&page=29UK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
d562f7d37106f7a6… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
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