A damning new report has exposed a severe postcode lottery and agonising delays for adults seeking treatment for eating disorders within the NHS in England. The first National Audit of Eating Disorders (NAED) found some patients are waiting nearly two years for vital care.
Stark Disparity Between Child and Adult Services
The audit, commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership and funded by NHS England, collected data between January and May this year. It revealed a growing and particularly worrying disparity between services for children and those for adults.
While there are 93 community teams for children and young people, there are only 69 for adults. This shortage of provision is reflected directly in the waiting times. The national median wait for a community care assessment is 28 days for adults, compared to just 14 days for children.
The gap widens dramatically when it comes to starting treatment. Adults face a median wait of 42 days, but for children, the median is a mere four days. In the worst cases, some adults have been left waiting up to 700 days for treatment, while the maximum wait for a child was 450 days.
Demand Overwhelming NHS Capacity
The report states that, in total, 3,855 people were on a waiting list for an assessment from a community care team, with a further 4,537 waiting to begin treatment. Of the teams with waiting lists, 71% cited demand exceeding capacity as the primary reason for the delays.
Tom Quinn, director of external affairs at the eating disorder charity Beat, said the audit was a vital first step. He praised community staff who are "doing their best" but warned patients often face "devastating" news that no local support is available.
"There’s also a real postcode lottery for certain eating disorders such as binge eating disorder, Arfid and night eating syndrome," Quinn added. "Being told that there’s no local support available can be devastating."
Calls for Consistent, Accessible Community Care
Beat is calling for everyone who could benefit to be given access to an intensive community or day service close to home, citing this as the model that often leads to the best outcomes. The charity highlighted that adult care is further hampered by longer waits, inaccessible self-referral options, and patchy service availability nationwide.
In response, an NHS England spokesperson said it was encouraging that children were on average seen within a fortnight, but added: "We are determined to make sure that everyone across all ages receives quick access to support that is consistent across the country."
The spokesperson confirmed every local health system now has at least one specialist eating disorder service and stated the NHS would use the report's findings to help drive down waiting times for all patients. They urged anyone struggling to come forward and speak to their GP practice as soon as possible.
