Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman’s report, Ignoring the alarms: how eating disorder services are failing patients, HC 634, published on 6 December 2017, when (a) his Department, (b) NHS England and (c) NHS Improvement plan to make a formal response to the recommendations of that report.

The Government takes seriously the report of the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO) ‘Ignoring the alarms: how NHS eating disorder services are failing patients’.

Following on from the publication of the report the Department will work with partner organisations and arm’s length bodies, including NHS England, and NHS Improvement to consider how the recommendations can be taken into account as part of the planned improvements to mental health and eating disorder services.

NHS England is considering the recommendations within the PHSO’s report and will be responding fully in due course to both the PHSO and the family of the patient concerned. The response will outline a proposed set of actions around reviewing provision of adult eating disorder services and the question of parity of adult services with children and young people services. Their formal response to the recommendations of the report will include our plans to review existing levels of geographical variation and the scope to address as part of future improvements to adult eating disorder services.