Minister for Care and Mental Health Gillian Keegan MP visits Springfield to mark Eating Disorders Awareness Week

The Eating Disorders Day Unit is an outpatient day service which cares for people with a range of eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge eating. Patients who are referred to the unit first receive an assessment of their mental health needs and a plan of the care and support they will receive. This usually includes a talk therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as well as practical advice to help patients manage their health and wellbeing while they are recovering at home.

Dr Ewa Zadeh, Clinical Lead for Eating Disorders, said: “It was a pleasure to show Gillian around our Eating Disorders Day Unit and introduce her to staff and service users. We are really proud of the specialist care we provide here and the important work our service is doing to expand and improve community mental health care so adults with an eating disorder can get earlier access to the best care as close to home as possible.”

The service is currently focused on building more support in the community as part of the Trust’s plans to improve and widen access to care for those needing mental health support, in line with the NHS Long Term Plan. By developing services in the community, including talking therapies and mental health liaison teams, it will be easier and quicker for people to access the care they need.

Eating disorders are complex mental illnesses. Anyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or background, can develop one. Information about the signs and symptoms of eating disorders and the support services available can be found here on the NHS website. Advice and support is also available from the eating disorder charity Beat: Get information and support.

You can watch a short video of Gillian Keegan talking about her visit here and a video of Dr Ewa Zadeh talking about the work of the eating disorders service here.