There has been a 66% rise in children and young people receiving urgent eating disorder treatment since 2019, a Royal College has warned. Analysis of data by the Royal College of Psychiatrists also found a rise in people seeking help, with large numbers of those being children and teenagers.
Its workings show that all regions in England are failing to meet the Government target for when patients should be seen. The NHS target for children and young people is for 95% of urgent patients to be seen within one week and routine patients to be seen within four weeks following a referral.
Latest NHS estimates for quarter three of 2022/23 suggest 78% of patients are seen within a week and 81% within four weeks against this target. Full figures from NHS trusts for quarter one of 2022/23 show 68% of patients were seen within a week and 69% within four weeks.
Overall, the number of children and young people receiving urgent care has gone up by 66% for quarter one since 2019 – from 318 to 529 in quarter one of 2022/23. The Royal College of Psychiatrists said eating disorder services in England have been “flooded” with referrals for children and young people over the past three years, with around 50% more patients overall – both routine and urgent – requiring specialist services.
The college warned there is a postcode lottery of care, with patients forced into long waits and at risk of becoming severely ill before starting treatment. It is calling for more staff, with an increase in medical school places to 15,000 by 2028/29.
It also wants support for NHS trusts to meet an annual 4% improvement target in retaining mental health staff. Dr Agnes Ayton, chairwoman of the eating disorder faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “It’s simply not acceptable that waiting times have increased when we are seeing record levels of referrals for children and young people.
“This is a warning that we gave three years ago and it beggars belief that nothing has changed. Admissions have been sharply rising since even before the pandemic, under-19s now account for 30% of hospital stays for eating disorders, with no sign of abating.
“We know that delays cause patients to become even more unwell, with potentially life-threatening consequences. Overstretched services are already struggling to meet demand, so how can we continue to subject these children and young people to a postcode lottery?”
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