Eating Disorder Care Crisis: Families Reach Breaking Point

Fourteen counties have no services in place for treatment of eating disorders, politicians have been told. Cared Ireland, a voluntary group of parents and carers of people with eating disorders, spoke before the Oireachtas Health Committee on Wednesday. The committee was told there are only three adult HSE specialist eating disorder beds in the country, all in south Dublin. Paula Crotty, founder of Cared Ireland, said families across the country cannot access timely, specialist treatment. “People are being harmed and dying as a result,” she said. Ms Crotty said the organisation hears from families at “breaking point” on a daily basis. “Early intervention is crucial, yet community-based services capable of delivering it are simply not there,” she said. The committee was told that eating disorders have the highest mortality rates of all mental illnesses. Ms Crotty said patients are routinely discharged from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) once they turn 18 and placed on waiting lists, often for services that do not exist. She said it was a welcome development that Mary Butler, Minister of State at the Department of Health, had announced that 19 more adult beds were “finally being provisioned for”. The National Clinical Programme for Eating Disorders was established in 2016 and its model of care was launched two years later. Almost 500 people were engaged with specialist eating disorder teams at the end of 2024, representing a 20 per cent increase on the previous year, according to the HSE. Martina Queally, regional executive officer of the HSE’s Dublin and South East regions, told the committee demand for services has grown beyond what was anticipated when the model of care was first published. Ms Queally said while eating disorders are now the most common reason for CAMHS inpatient admission, inpatient care is required for fewer than one in 10 CAMHS patients treated in outpatient services. She said “we know challenges remain” in relation to adult inpatient provision, adding that a national report on bed capacity for adult eating disorders has been submitted to the Minister for Health. Its recommendations will be considered as part of the forthcoming national mental health capital plan. “Eating disorders are serious and complex conditions, associated with the highest mortality and morbidity of all mental health disorders,” said Ms Queally. Bodywhys, the Eating Disorders Association of Ireland, said its helpline responded to almost 1,300 calls in 2024. Of those, more than a third were people aged under 18, while almost a quarter were aged over 36. It had also handled about 2,400 emails, the majority relating to children and adolescents while “hundreds more accessed our online and virtual support groups”.