Almost two dozen children receive urgent eating disorder treatment at Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust

Anti-eating disorder charity Beat said the Government and NHS England must ‘develop a fully-funded mental health recovery plan’ after the number of children waiting for help soared nationally during the coronavirus pandemic.

NHS England figures show 22 children were urgently treated for eating disorders at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust in the year to June, up from two over the same period two years earlier – the trust runs sites across the county and further afield, including Millbrook Mental Health Unit at King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton.

NICE guidance states 95 per cent of urgent referrals should be treated within one week, but at the trust, just 20 cases, 90.9 per cent, met this threshold.

In the 12 months to June 2020, every urgent referral was seen within one week.

Across the country, the proportion of children with an urgent referral seen within one week fell from 88 per cent in the year to June 2020, to 68 per cent last year.

Across the same period, the number of children waiting for urgent treatment across England has increased fourfold, from 56 to 230.

Tom Quinn, Beat director of external affairs, said the rise in waiting times and lists is ‘concerning’, with many children experiencing heightened anxiety during the pandemic and some reaching out for help with eating disorders for the first time.

The number of children waiting for eating disorder treatment following routine referrals in England has also rocketed during the pandemic – 1,500 children were waiting for treatment at the end of June, more than triple the 441 two years before.

NICE Guidance says 95 per cent of routine cases should be treated within four weeks of a referral, but just 69 per cent were seen within this timeframe in the year to June.

At Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust, 92 of 128 children, 71.9 per cent, with routine referrals were seen within four weeks.

The Department for Health and Social Care said it is ‘determined’ to provide mental health care to those with eating disorders and will invest in services to treat an additional 345,000 children and young people by 2024.