Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that all future doctors are equipped to identify the (a) early signs and (b) symptoms of an eating disorder.

The Department is engaging with partners through a delivery group led by NHS England and NHS Improvement. This includes working with Health Education England to improve training for general practitioners and with the General Medical Council (GMC) to ensure eating disorders are included amongst outcome measures for newly qualified clinicians. Health Education England is developing training for primary care staff and others who come into contact with people with an eating disorder.

The GMC’s Outcomes for Graduates states that newly qualified doctors must illustrate their understanding of safe management and referral of patients with mental health conditions, including eating disorders. The GMC has also commissioned the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges to work with medical colleges on curricula content, aiming to ensure high standards in core clinical areas, which includes eating disorders as a priority.