Eating Disorders: Health Services

(asked on 9th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the inquest into the deaths of Averil Hart, Emma Brown, Maria Jakes, Amanda Bowles, and Madeline Wallace, if he will take steps to improve the quality of NHS care for those with eating disorders.


Answered by
Nadine Dorries Portrait
Nadine Dorries
This question was answered on 6th January 2021

This Government is committed to learning lessons from those tragic events and ensuring everyone with an eating disorder has access to timely treatment based on clinical need. We welcomed the recommendations of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's ‘Ignoring the Alarms: How NHS eating disorder services are failing patients’ report relating to the death of Averil Hart and two other individuals and we are working closely with our arm’s length bodies and stakeholders to implement the recommendations.

In October, NHS England announced additional early intervention services for young people with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. This service, being rolled out in 18 sites across the country, means teens or young adults coming forward could be contacted within 48 hours and begin treatment within two weeks.

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