Young lives are being put at risk because doctors are failing to diagnose eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia quickly enough, a campaign group said yesterday.
Up to 1.1 million people, predominantly girls, are thought to be suffering from eating disorders, with those aged between 14 and 20 most vulnerable. But the Eating Disorders Association (EDA) said in a report yesterday that access to specialist services for sufferers was "patchy" across Britain, despite the issuing of guidelines to improve the care and treatment of patients.
"Hardly a week goes by without EDA hearing from a family whose story includes the fact that their GP either didn't pick up on the problem, or else didn't act quickly enough," said Susan Ringwood, the EDA's chief executive.
"This unfortunate situation must be resolved quickly to prevent more young lives being lost to these deadly disorders."
The campaign organisation interviewed 1,700 patients and families across the country and found wide variations in standards of care.
The survey found 42% thought that access to early diagnosis was unsatisfactory, while 19% said there was room for improvement. A shortage of specialist units around the UK meant that many patients were being treated a long way from home, or in general psychiatric treatment wards.
In some parts of Britain the nearest specialist service could be 150 miles away.
The report highlighted Wales as an area where patients are poorly served by the health service. Wales had no specialist adult inpatient or outpatient services, the research found. Elsewhere in Britain, a third of local health authorities had no specialist treatment services for anorexia and bulimia.
Specialists were even more stretched because the publicity about anorexia was encouraging more people affected to come forward.
"More people are coming forward for treatment and help and the specialist services across the UK are becoming overwhelmed with referrals," the report said.
"The result is long waiting lists and often reduced treatment plans to address the problem, or worse, emergency admissions into already stretched medical wards."
The report comes a year after the National Institute for Clinical Excellence published guidelines setting out the best standards for the treatment of eating disorders in the NHS in England and Wales, which said people seeking help should be assessed and treated "at the earlier opportunity".
Ms Ringwood said 55% of patients were not being treated by a specialist, while only 17% of young people were being cared for in a setting appropriate to their age.
The health minister Rosie Winterton defended the government's record yesterday, saying the issue of eating disorders was taken seriously, particularly among young people.
"Anorexia in particular can have serious consequences for general health and has high rates of mortality," she said. "This is why we asked Nice to publish guidelines on core interventions for these disorders.
"Change does not happen overnight, but I am confident that the record investment going into mental health NHS services will make a real difference to people who suffer from eating disorders."
