Peterborough charity calls for additional support for patients with eating disorders
Personalised Eating Disorder Support is planning to create progress hubs aimed at prevention, training, education and early intervention
Last updated 4th Oct 2024
Personalised Eating Disorder Support (PEDS) in Peterborough are developing a centre to support people affected by eating disorders.
These work in progress hubs are aiming to bring the local community together and focus on prevention, training and education and early intervention as well as step down care for those leaving NHS treatment.
This comes as campaigners are calling for a confidential inquiry into avoidable deaths from the condition, saying the NHS fails too many patients.
A new petition has been launched backing calls for the inquiry, which would be designed to pinpoint systemic problems affecting NHS care and come up with recommendations to resolve them.
Campaigner Hope Virgo, who was admitted to hospital with an eating disorder as a teenager, said: "For too long people with eating disorders have been dismissed and neglected.
"People are being denied lifesaving treatment for not being sick enough, for being too sick, too complex, or not working hard enough.
"People are dying because of this, they are being denied treatment they need and with the new government we have the chance to change this.
"We need to stop the cover up culture within eating disorder service and for services to learn from mistakes, have accountability and to give the best treatment for everyone."
Mandy Scott, a qualified mental health nurse and one of the founders of Personalised Eating Disorder Support in Peterborough, said:
"I think that's it's something that's would benefit all services. I think we need to recognise those lives that have been lost through eating disorders and the tragedy around eating disorders. I think that it will help us to further inform our practise going forward.
"I think also it's the recognition that eating disorders are very severe mental health illnesses and they do have such a high mortality rate. We need to learn from each other in terms of what is it that that works."
The charity have just obtained the keys for their first UK Nurse led centre. They offer assessment, 1:1 support and groups with their Mission being to help the sufferer to 'Build a Life To Get Well For'.
PEDS are now urging the local community to support the centres and to help make it into a home for sufferers, their families and professionals.
They will be holding training and education workshops, open coffee mornings, assessment clinics as well as having a library for drop ins and consultations for professionals such as teachers, GPs, sports club leaders.
Co-founder Mandy Scott said:
"What we really need to do is to bring the local community together with this. We'll be having an environment where people can come and talk about their loved ones, share experiences, ask for help and have a session to receive an assessment. It will be very embedded with the local CAMHS team and NHS adult eating disorder team too."
If you are worried that someone is suffering from an eating disorder, the organisation says:
"Please encourage them to see their GP as soon as possible and consider reaching out to PEDS via www.pedsupport.co.uk "
The Department for Health and Social Care says it's working to ensure all patients with eating disorders get the support they need, and that it's doing all it can to fix the NHS and help those in need.