Type 1 Diabetes and Disordered Eating Services

Debate between Josh Newbury and Alex McIntyre

Wednesday 5th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Josh Newbury]

I completely agree with the hon. Lady, and I thank her for the lived experience that she brings to this House, and for how candid she has been in sharing her experiences. I could not agree with her more.

Many people are falling through the cracks of a system that often fails to recognise the unique needs of people who live with both type 1 diabetes and disordered eating. While disordered eating in those with type 1 diabetes is sometimes referred to as “niche” or “rare”, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is simply under-recognised, and it is often missed. Evidence suggests that up to 40% of women and girls, and up to 15% of men and boys with type 1 diabetes experience some form of disordered eating. That is a quarter of the 400,000 people in the UK with type 1 diabetes.

[Alex McIntyre (Gloucester) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend makes the important point that this issue affects so many people. I have direct experience with a family member who had type 1 diabetes and what, back then, was referred to as diabulimia. They could not get support because the medical profession did not accept that it was a condition. Does my hon. Friend agree that part of tackling this issue is recognising its impact on families across the country, as that is the first step to ensuring that people get the support they need?

[Josh Newbury]

I agree with my hon. Friend. We need far better awareness of this condition, and better support for people affected and their families—I will come on to that a little later in my remarks.

As my hon. Friend said, a key issue we still face is the absence of internationally recognised criteria for T1DE, which hampers accurate diagnosis and classification, as well as collaboration and research. Within our NHS, pockets of fantastic practice have existed for a long time, but overall the current system often does not take account of the unique challenges faced by people with T1DE. Eating disorder specialists might lack the necessary understanding of diabetes management, while diabetes care teams may not be fully equipped to deal with the psychological aspects of eating disorders. The gap in knowledge and siloing of services means that people with T1DE sometimes come up against exclusion criteria and will end up disengaging from services at a critical point in their condition.

The need for joined-up, bespoke services is where the five NHS England T1DE pilot sites come in. Those trailblazing projects are combining diabetes and eating disorder support into one service, helping people to recover faster from T1DE and reducing repeated hospital admissions. That is where my interest in T1DE comes in, because in a past life I worked in the communications team at the Coventry and Warwickshire partnership NHS trust. When it was selected as one of the second wave of pilot sites, I had the privilege of working on preparations for the launch of the new service. Although I sadly moved on before the service was launched, that was a highlight of my years working for our NHS. What I learned about T1DE in those few months has stayed with me, as has the expertise and dedication of Dr Tony Winston and his team at the Aspen centre in Warwick, which is to be commended.

I pay tribute to CWPT and all the pilot sites for the pioneering work they have done to develop these services from the ground up, co-designing them with patients who at last are being heard and treated. Diabetes UK told me that it supported NHS England in the development of those pilots, and it is calling for long-term funding to ensure that best practice is shared and, most importantly, that support is offered by those services on a sustainable footing.