Following the release of the economics report on Friday 24 September and the appointment of the new Minister for Mental Health, I am writing to you all to ask you to email her using the template below.
We have tried to make the government listen by sharing stories, but for some reason that doesn’t seem to stick! With that in mind we need to make sure they are all aware of the financial implications of not providing treatment for those with eating disorders.
Below is a draft letter to send to the new Minister – please copy and paste it (and do feel free to personalise it too!)
And as always let me know if you hear back! Together we will change this and end the injustices that people all over the country are facing when it comes to eating disorders!
Minister for Mental Health
Contact info: https://contactus.dhsc.gov.uk/ AND gillian.keegan.mp@parliament.uk
Dear the RT HonGillian Keegan,
I am writing to you to share a copy of the Uk Cost of Eating Disorders Report that was released on Friday 24 September. The report was analysed by EY, was co-authored by Hope Virgo, Gerome Breen, Professor of Psychiatric Genetics at King’s College London, and Dr Agnes Ayton. It revealed that the costs of eating disorders on the UK could be as high as £9.4 billion in 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on the mental health of our nation and it’s hit eating disorder sufferers particularly hard. What was already a health crisis before the pandemic has now reached total catastrophe with the numbers of people needing support increasing, and an overrun, broken system falling to its knees. People are being turned away from treatment, children are in general wards being tube fed, caregivers don’t know where to turn for support, and there is no sign of this ending.
This report is just another stark reminder of what is going on across the UK right now where every single day people are being left in limbo without any support.
Among the recommendations in the report is a call for a UK-wide eating disorder strategy with a clear timeline for implementation, a screening programme, increased research, awareness raising and training for healthcare professionals.
We are urging you to:
- Review the suggested recommendations that have been put forward in the report and work with stakeholders to come up with a timeline of implementation
- Take action to prevent high eating disorder levels for the next generation including evaluating the upcoming obesity strategy
We urge you to meet with the co-chairs of the Hearts, Minds coalition at your earliest convenience to discuss how rising eating disorder rates can be tackled in the context of the aftermath of COVID-19, the upcoming obesity strategy, and the enormous rise in cases. If we don't tackle this problem now, the rise in eating disorder cases may not dissipate but instead become a new normal.
As the Minister for Mental Health I look forward to hearing what you will do, and how you are planning to tackle this issue moving forward.
Best wishes,