Adults in England with eating disorders wait up to 700 days for treatment, report finds

"The audit, commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership and funded by NHS England, found there were more community teams to support children than there were for adults. On average, adults with eating disorders had to wait twice as long as children for an assessment, and more than 10 times as long for treatment, the report found. The eating disorder charity Beat said the growing disparity between child and adult services was particularly worrying."

"The NAED report, using data collected between January and May this year, found there were 93 community teams and 54 inpatient teams for children and young people, compared with 69 community teams and 33 inpatient teams for adults. The audit found the national median wait for community care for children and young people was 14 days for assessment and four days for treatment, but some waited up to 450 days for treatment."

"For adults, the national median wait was 28 days for assessment and 42 days for treatment, with some waiting up to 700 days for treatment. In total, 3,855 people were waiting for an assessment from a community care team and 4,537 were waiting for treatment, the report said. Of those community teams with waiting lists, 71% said the most common reason was because of demand exceeding capacity."

Adults in England with eating disorders can wait up to 700 days for treatment, with a national median of 28 days for assessment and 42 days for treatment. Children and young people face shorter median waits: 14 days for assessment and four days for treatment, though some children waited up to 450 days. There are 93 community and 54 inpatient teams for children and young people, compared with 69 community and 33 inpatient teams for adults. A total of 3,855 people awaited assessment and 4,537 awaited treatment. Seventy-one percent of community teams with waiting lists cited demand exceeding capacity. The charity Beat called the disparity particularly worrying and noted local support gaps.

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