Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the availability of specialist eating disorder support for patients in Ellesmere Port and Bromborough.

The Department is working closely with NHS England to strengthen community-based eating disorder (ED) services and to improve outcomes and recovery for patients, including in Ellesmere Port and Bromborough. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning mental health services for local populations. In doing so, ICBs are expected to be evidence-based by assessing and responding to the needs of their local communities and to ensure services are provided equitably.

Young people, between 13 and 18 years old, from Ellesmere Port and Bromborough access specialist ED care at Ancora House, the specialist General Adolescent Unit for Young Peoples mental health Services in Cheshire and Merseyside. There is a Day Hospital provision called Sapphire which offers a range of therapeutic interventions for young people with an ED. Care is also provided from the Cheshire and Merseyside Eating Disorder Service who are based at Ancora House. If specialist inpatient care is required, there are four dedicated beds at Ancora house, co-located with the ED Day Hospital.

Adults with an ED from the Ellesmere Port and Bromborough area are supported in the specialist Community Eating Disorders service. If specialist inpatient care is required, patients receive this at the Oaktrees Specialist Eating Disorders Unit on the Clatterbridge Health Park.

NHS England has also published new guidance on children and young people’s EDs, which places greater emphasis on early identification and intervention across the care pathway, including in schools and primary care settings.