So far, we have looked at how you can get your child to the GP successfully.. but what happens after that? the expectation is that your child will be assessed, referred for medical treatment if needed then be referred to your local CAMHS specialist eating disorder service. Sounds like a plan right? Yep, this is what should happen.. but.. this is not the case for many families. Some are having huge difficulties in getting their child to treatment and when they do, they feel misunderstood, frustrated anxious and frightened. Having an eating disorder in your family is very distressing and is a daily struggle, so anxiety and fear is definitely part of it, but what's happening to create the roadblocks to treatment that many are describing.?

We're going lift the lid on the issue, hear from families and professionals and start to understand the factors that cause difficulties in accessing treatment. Unless we are able to get a better understanding of what it's like to access treatment, we won't be able to make the changes needed that families need.

We know that NHS services are under immense pressure and 2020's COVID pandemic added serious strain to service delivery. Eating disorder services saw an increase in referrals that stretched resources often beyond their ability to meet the need. This also created an increase in in-patient admissions for treatment. But this doesn't explain all of the struggles that are being reported by families. I'm hearing many families talk about having access difficulties way before the COVID pandemic - so what's happening?

This is a change of direction for the podcast, but lots of families in the UK are having massive struggles to access eating disorder treatment and this is adding greatly to their distress. So we need to hear what they have to say and use their voice to inform change in treatment provision.

Are we only going to hear the voice of the family? no - that's a one sided discussion and won't give a full picture. We also need to hear from those that commission and deliver services - unless the voice of the family is heard by those that can inform change, no change will happen.

In the next episode, I'm talking to Jen Haken and Becki Copely who have set up support groups for families of those with eating disorders. Come an listen to what they have to say. If you're interested in joining their support groups - click the links below:

Parent to Professional-Eating Disorder Support UK www.facebook.com/groups/388803421922063/about

Eating Disorder Parent/Carer Support (UK) - www.facebook.com/groups/430874960395142

If you'd like to add your voice to the discussion, contact me:

Email:- [email protected]

Twitter:- @ED_Insights_Pod

Voice Message:- https://www.speakpipe.com/eatingdisorderinsights

Music from https://filmmusic.io

"Modern Jazz Samba" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

"Samba Stings" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)