AQW 19330/17-22

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 24/05/2021
Answered On Date: 25/08/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health (i) to detail the number of people that have sought help for eating disorders in each of the last five years; and (ii) for his assessment of the scale of the problem beyond the scope of health services.

Answer:

The table below shows the number of referrals number of people to the each of the Health and Social Care Trust Eating Disorder Services. The figures are the total number of people seeking help of both the Adult Eating Disorder services and Child Eating Disorder services in each Trust. Figures for both the Belfast and South Eastern Trust have also been combined as the Belfast Trust provides Specialist Eating Disorder Services to South Eastern Trust.

Year	Belfast Trust & South Eastern Trust	Western Trust	Northern Trust	Southern Trust
2016/2017	164	161	145	137
2017/2018	176	188	169	192
2018/2019	146	169	193	156
2019/2020	166	170	158	167
2020/2021	198	176	187	186

While Northern Ireland already has a regional network for the provision of services for people with an eating disorder, outcomes for these patients could be improved. I recently approved the strategic policy direction for future eating disorder services flowing from a review carried out by the Regional Eating Disorder Network Group (REDNG), and this has been reflected in the recently published Mental Health Strategy 2021-31. The Strategy highlights, in Action 29d, the need to “Enhance the regional eating disorder service”. The planning for the Strategy implementation is ongoing and will be dependent on the approval of further funding.