EXCLUSIVE: Calls for specialised eating disorder services in every health board

There are calls for more specialised eating disorder services to be available across the country to make sure everyone who suffers from illnesses like anorexia can receive help in their region.

Currently not every NHS health board has a dedicated eating disorder service, with many patients forced to try and access help through general mental health services or travel elsewhere

Tina McGuff is an eating disorder campaigner who has started a peer support group after many people came to her struggling to access support. She says: "A lot of the people there have living experience of eating disorders and they have really struggled to get help, in particular in-patient help, because of the waiting times and lack of space. Sometimes they're asked to go all over the country.

Professor Fiona Duffy is an eating disorder expert from Edinburgh University. She says: "We know from a range of different research, especially in anorexia, that actually if we can promote early intervention then we get better outcomes. So we really need to help people spot the signs in themselves, but also help those around them spot the signs, because eating disorders can be so secretive."

Dr Stephen Anderson leads the specialised eating disorder service at NHS Forth Valley and says: "Even within medicine there is still not a great perception of eating disorders. There's very few services in Scotland and there's very few of us that work within the service."