Backbench business

Mary Glindon Excerpts

Thursday 14th February 2013 Westminster Hall

[Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate under your chairmanship, Mrs Osborne. I, too, thank the Backbench Business Committee for allowing the debate. However, I particularly thank the hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes) for securing the debate. She and I are members of the all-party group on body image and, in calling for the debate, she has shown the commitment to, and concern about, the issue that demonstrate why she is deservedly the chair of our group.

Before I had decided to speak in the debate and while I was pondering whether I would be able to spare the time before returning to my constituency, I received a number of e-mails from people across the country, as I am sure other hon. Members did. One was from a young constituent of mine who is just 17 years old. This is why she asked me to attend the debate:

“Recently I have been having problems with my eating and raising awareness would mean people like me can get the help we need and feel less ashamed or judged. This issue is incredibly important to me and you showing your support on Thursday would really help…This serious mental illness is affecting someone you know right now in your constituency.”

What could be more compelling than that?

Today, I would like to be quite parochial and speak about services in the north-east. When looking on the internet to find out where these services were, I was quite concerned to find out how limited they are, but, fortunately, in the north-east we have a unique service; it is the only specialist provision outside hospital services in the north-east. The Northern Initiative on Women and Eating has worked in the area for 24 years; it is referred to as NIWE. Last year, according to its annual report, it helped 1,344 people with eating disorders. For the rest of my speech, I shall refer to them as people with eating distress, as NIWE feels that it is a more appropriate way to describe how people suffer when they have problems with eating. It has also helped 141 carers and supporters of people with eating distress and 636 professions have called on its expertise.

As has been said, 1.6 million people in the UK have eating distress, more than 90% of whom are women, and an increasing number of men are now affected. The figures include only those who are in-patients in NHS treatment, and therefore leave out people who have not come forward or have not been diagnosed and those who are receiving private treatment or being treated as out-patients or in the community. Eating distress is a general term with which people are more comfortable. It covers those diagnosed with conditions such as bulimia, anorexia, eating disorders not otherwise specified and binge eating. Problematic eating habits seriously interfere with people’s lives, as hon. Members have pointed out.

Some people have not even shared their disorders with others. The high levels of stigma have already been pointed out. When people have eating disorders, it often goes unreported to GPs or other medical services, owing to shame and the fear that people’s futures could be jeopardised if anything were recorded in health records. That fear needs to be removed. Sometimes people have lived with eating issues for many years, managing in secret and suffering in silence.

Under-reporting is exacerbated because many eating issues are due to a fundamental lack of self-esteem, which can be brought on by bullying or abuse. They are difficult to diagnose medically and not all GPs have enough specialist knowledge, as we have learnt this afternoon. I do not apologise for repeating some things that have already been said; I do not think we can say enough about what the issues are and how they affect the lives of sufferers.

Eating distress carries the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. During the past two years, hospital admissions in the north-east for eating distress have risen by 16%, compared with 8% for all other admissions. Unfortunately, the figures also show that the highest rates are in the north-east. Overeating is increasing, and the serious long-term health risks of obesity are being highlighted.

Of those on NIWE’s waiting list for support and help, 10% are from my constituency and the wider North Tyneside borough. I would like to thank it for helping people from north Tyneside, who, over the past two years, made up 25% of its attendees. Of the people with whom NIWE works, 61% are under 30. NIWE was keen to stress, as was my constituent, that there is a greater chance of recovery with early intervention. Sadly, NIWE also tells us that 70 people are on its waiting list for group therapy. Waiting times are too long, but it simply lacks the capacity to address the issue further, and every day it receives new names.

There is particular concern in the north-east from NIWE and public health leaders over the growing numbers of young people in the north-east, due to the student groups, who are at risk. We have a number of universities. Although NIWE is supported by North Tyneside, Newcastle and Gateshead primary care trusts and Newcastle council, and receives funding from charities, such as the Northern Rock Foundation, it operates on a shoestring.

Many treatments target core eating disorder pathology, primarily weight restoration, but there is a need to look at efficacy and effectiveness in minimising harm and reducing the personal and social costs of chronic illness. NIWE has therapy groups, which are proving successful, that address the underlying determinants of eating distress, but I have to keep returning to the fact that it is underfunded. NIWE has found that people from across the area who are recovering from an eating disorder want recovery groups to be set up, because they help them to progress and maintain their recovery, which must be the ultimate aim of anyone who comes forward to address a problem. The Stay Well group helps such people, but NIWE is, again, trying to raise more funds to support that vital service. It tells me that, as I think we all know, such services need more provision and we need more to be spent on recovery, because, sadly, there is a high relapse rate and many people go through a revolving door. It makes sense to invest in support for people in recovery, because bed rates for those with eating distress are between £450 and £750 a day. In terms of economics, the Government should look at supporting people in recovery.

Support for families and friends who are carers and supporters is important. There are effective family-based interventions. NIWE offers an initial listening and signposting service to under-18s and their families, but it wants to do more. I know that I am pleading for NIWE, but I am sure that those here today know of many other organisations in a similar situation, with the ability, but simply not the capacity, to help. People call NIWE wanting an appointment or asking for other services, but it finds that need far outstrips capacity.

I mentioned that eating distress is becoming more common among the male population and minority groups, including the transgender community. NIWE has been able to introduce some support for young men and others who come to it, but a lot more work needs to be done. Before I make a plea to the Minister on what needs to be done, I shall pay tribute to NIWE’s work by quoting some users of its service. One person said:

“NIWE has saved my life and is trying to help me make sense of it.”

Others said:

“I think this is an unbelievably amazing service. The counsellors in the session were brilliant. I just wish there were more of you out there for all the people still struggling.”

“A relaxed and non-critical atmosphere which enabled me to speak…without feeling isolated.”

There are more quotes, but those demonstrate how organisations such as this are critical and why they need full recognition and support in the health service.

Raising awareness of serious mental health issues and the profile of services is always crucial. With so much pressure on clinical commissioning groups in their new role, specialist non-acute services are in danger of flying under the radar and losing out in commissioning plans. Mental health services are often poor relations when it comes to health funding pots. Acute eating disorder services will be funded through specialised commissioning frameworks, and will often be large regional services remote from many of their users. Small local services, especially ones focusing on early intervention, are therefore vital, but there is a great risk that such services will not be commissioned.

As has already been mentioned, we need a comprehensive awareness-raising programme in schools and youth services. Organisations such as NIWE try to provide that, but much more is needed—more training for professionals and, above all, more money for services, such as NIWE, and more support and acknowledgment. I make a plea to the Government that, following this debate, they will help groups, such as NIWE, that are doing so fantastic and fundamental a job for our communities.