AQW 911/22-27


Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry


Tabled Date: 01/06/2022
Answered On Date: 20/06/2022
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health i) for his assessment of the current level of eating disorder training among health professionals; and (ii) what steps he is taking to increase training.


Answer:
Training on eating disorders is delivered through a range of mechanisms. Staff within Adult Eating Disorder Service (AEDS) work as part of a regional network through which experience, learning and evidenced based management is shared for learning and training purposes. Staff working within the AEDS are encouraged and facilitated to attend training delivered by providers such as the HSC Clinical Education Centre and the Eating Disorder Youth Service – scenario based teaching and meal supervision training.
CAMHS clinicians have developed core competencies and skills through specialist training in eating disorders such as the Eating Disorder practitioner course, Body Image work, CBT-E and family based interventions in keeping with NICE core interventions and Junior MARSIPAN guidelines. There is ongoing staff awareness training in house completed by Eating Disorder Practitioners and more recently, voluntary agencies such as BEAT have delivered training for both carers and professionals.
Each Trust has developed its own training and awareness approach for staff working outside of the specialism. The range of options is too extensive to list but the most commonly used approaches are: the use of a course provided by the Clinical Education Centre; the provision of modules by Recovery Colleges; and training of medical students.
A number of actions within the Mental Health Strategy 2021-2031 are focused on addressing issues around skills and training. Action 32 of the Strategy, one of 4 enabling actions which has received funding in 2021/22, commits to a comprehensive workforce review, considering existing workforce need, training and development of new workforce. This work is already underway.
Action 29 also commits to provide further investment so that eating disorder services can achieve optimum staffing levels and skill mix to deliver effective care across the pathways. A business case for regional eating disorder services is currently being developed.