Major surge of young people in Merseyside seeking help for eating disorders
Merseyside is also among boroughs failing to meet Government targets for when patients should be seen.
There has been a rise in the number of children and young people in Merseyside seeking help for eating disorders.
Across the country, there has been a 66 percent rise for those looking for urgent treatment since 2019.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists warns all regions in England are failing to meet the Government target for when patients should be seen.
The NHS target for children and young people is for 95% of urgent patients to be seen within one week and routine patients to be seen within four weeks following a referral.
Latest NHS estimates for quarter three of 2022/23 suggest 78% of patients are seen within a week and 81% within four weeks against this target. Full figures from NHS trusts for quarter one of 2022/23 show 68% of patients were seen within a week and 69% within four weeks.
Psychiatrist Leigh Best from eating disorder support group Talking Eating Disorders in Liverpool told us: " I'm definitely getting phone calls from parents whose children are much younger than they've ever been."
"Believe it or not, I'm supporting parents in Ireland and other places because resources are so patchy across the UK and over into Ireland because we know there is a lack of specialists."
The Royal College of Psychiatrists said eating disorder services in England have been "flooded" with referrals for children and young people over the past three years, with around 50 percent more patients overall - both routine and urgent - requiring specialist services.
The college warned there is a postcode lottery of care, with patients forced into long waits and at risk of becoming severely ill before starting treatment.
It is calling for more staff, with an increase in medical school places to 15,000 by 2028/29.
Leigh also told us: " People need something else other than the medical monitoring. It's a very important part of the treatment but we need to think of other ways, like our community groups."
"I know there is other community groups throughout the UK. Those kinds of services can be invaluable."
To find out more about the support on offer in Merseyside, you can visit: https://tedsuk.com/