There is an urgent need for significant Government investment in specialist eating disorder services, it has been argued.
In its newly-published pre-Budget submission, Bodywhys, a national support organisation for people with eating disorders, said that while the Government had committed itself to providing 24 beds across the State for specialist eating disorder services, there were currently only three.
Underlining the demand on services, the document states that 32 per cent (80 patients) of the total adult psychiatric referrals to St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin between June 2004 and June 2005 had been diagnosed with an eating disorder such as bulimia or anorexia
"The majority of these were referred to out-patient or day-care services. Eleven were put on the in-patient waiting list, which stagnated, given that the majority of people taking up in-patient beds were admitted as emergency cases via A&E or via the day-care service."
Bodywhys also recommended that immediate funding be provided for dedicated eating disorder services for young people. Under current practices, it said, children and adolescents with eating disorders were admitted to medical wards where staff were not trained to treat them.
Funding for child and adolescent mental health services stands at 5-10 per cent of the State's mental health budget.
The group also called for funding dedicated to preventing suicide among people with eating disorders. Funding for measures to address obesity in Ireland should include money for services for people with "Binge Eating Disorder", which has been estimated to affect almost 170,000 people in Ireland.
