AQW 34074/22-27

Mrs Michelle Guy
Alliance Party
Lagan Valley

Tabled Date: 21/10/2025
Answered On Date: 05/11/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail (i) the evidential threshold needed for a death to be recorded as caused by an eating disorder; and (ii) what dedicated eating disorder services are focused on prevention.

Answer:

The Deaths and Births Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 states that a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death must be completed by a registered medical practitioner who must state ‘to the best of his knowledge and belief the cause of death’.

This is also reflected in Departmental guidance related to Death Certification.The clinical judgement and experience of the doctor who treated a deceased person is relied upon to give the most accurate and complete record of the cause of death and any contributory factors.

Eating Disorder Specialist Teams across the five HSC Trusts have developed community based psychological therapy services using evidence-based treatments in line with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance. Teams also work to the Regional Care Pathway for the Treatment of Eating Disorders (2016). Individuals are referred to these services for treatment when an eating disorder is evident. As such, these services focus on treatment rather than prevention.