Eating Disorder Services

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 3:10 pm on 1 December 2021.

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Photo of Lynne Neagle Lynne Neagle Labour 3:10, 1 December 2021

Can I thank Heledd Fychan for that question? As I believe she's aware, health boards now receive, since 2017, an extra £3.8 million to support improvements in ED services and waiting times, and since 2019 funding has been provided to health boards specifically to reconfigure services towards early intervention to work towards achieving the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence standards on eating disorders within two years, and to develop plans to achieve a four-week waiting time across adult and children's services, as recommended in the review. We've also provided an additional £100,000 to the eating disorder charity Beat as a direct result of the pressures seen during the pandemic, which she has highlighted herself in her supplementary question.

Aside from the funding that we provided specifically for ED services, we're also improving primary care understanding through the dissemination of clinical resources for GPs, improving awareness within the paediatric community of the need for their skills and experience within eating disorder services, improving specialist knowledge on eating disorders amongst non-clinical staff, and including body image and relationship with food and body issues in the new well-being curriculum and the whole-school approach. We'll continue to use our whole-system approach across Government to build in early intervention support for young people, including at their schools and colleges.

Evidence shows that the impact of COVID on those living with eating disorders was very significant, and throughout the pandemic Welsh Government has released funding with flexibility to manage the increased demand within the eating disorder service. We know, of course, there will be more work to do, and she will be aware that there is an implementation lead in place who has been driving that change across Wales.