FREED receives NHS support to reach hundreds of young people
FREED is to be rolled out to 18 more eating disorder services in England. With new sites located in all four corners of the nation from the North East to the South West, the service is set to reach many more young people with eating disorders in need of help.
"We are absolutely thrilled with this much needed investment and we hope that rolling out this new NHS service to 18 specialist eating disorder teams in England, will create the momentum needed to make early intervention a reality for all young people with eating disorders.
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Prof Ulrike Schmidt
The investment is part of the NHS Long Term Plan – a future focused plan that ambitiously sets out key commitments for the NHS over the next 10 years. Prevention and addressing issues early before the need for more intensive treatment are among the headline commitments of the plan alongside developing new models of care, reducing inequalities, and improving mental health care.
Greater investment in eating disorder disorders has always be needed, however, now more than ever this is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Recent calls for urgent changes to eating disorder services following an inquest into the death of five women, many of whom were between 16-25 years old (https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4346), and growing concern about the impact of the pandemic on eating, exercise, and young people (e.g. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/eat.23317) have shone a spotlight on eating issues and disorders.
For more information please check out the NHS-E website for the official press release: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2020/11/hundreds-of-young-people-with-eating-disorders-to-benefit-from-gold-standard-nhs-treatment/
Sarah is the mother of Issy, a young person who received treatment through FREED. Sarah shares her experiences of living with and supporting Issy as she accessed treatment.
Sarah is the mother of Issy, a young person who received treatment through FREED. Sarah shares her experiences of living with and supporting Issy as she accessed treatment.
