My name is Emma Dalmayne, I an the CEO of Autistic Inclusive Meets, an Autistic led organisation in SE London. 

Please meet Saffron - a 25 year old autistic young woman, with OCD, arfid, and a history of sexual abuse. She is currently on a section 3 in Southport and Formby District General Hospital.

Please see Saffrons video here: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGd8uSptg/

Saffron presented herself at A&E on the 3rd of October willingly, as she recognised how dangerous her weight was, having dropped to 47 pounds, which is 3 stone 5 pounds.

After waiting overnight, she was placed on a ward and sectioned within 1 hour, despite her showing understanding of the severity of her condition, and being accepting of treatment. She was immediately tubed, even though she begged to be allowed to eat food, or even drink supplements.

Saffron is now 4 stone 1 pound in weight, and wants to have the choice to be able to eat food instead of being forced to have a meal plan via an NG tube. She finds the sensory experience of the tube in her throat and the pain in her stomach unbearable.

She loves food, and it is one of her special interests, and she just wants the chance to have an oral meal plan and put on weight that way, but the doctors in charge of her care refuse to even trial this less restrictive approach. 

Saffron has said that even though she has a community team diagnosis of arfid, the psychiatrist in charge of her care has disregarded this and is treating her as if she has anorexia. She has been told that she is 'just trying to avoid food' and that they have 'seen it all before'.

Currently, Saffron is not allowed to go outside in a wheelchair to have fresh air, is not allowed to leave her room, is on 24/7 1:1 care without privacy to use the toilet, and is made to wear mitts on her hands at night to stop her pulling out her tube, even though she has not pulled it out before.

She has been restrained and sedated multiple times when she has tried to resist the NG tube and asked for food instead. The invasive and violent nature of the tube and the treatment she is recieving ignores the trauma that Saffron deals with day to day from abuse she has experienced previously, and is having an extremely damaging impact on her mental state.

The doctors have planned for Saffron to go to a specialist eating disorder unit when they feel she is ready, even though she has had 11 previous admissions to these places, and each time has experienced very standardised treatment with no accomodations for her autism, and no understanding of arfid compared to anorexia. 

Saffron is not resistant to gaining weight - she just wants a chance to gain weight through eating food, and to be treated like a human being. She wants to get to a stable enough place as soon as possible so she can continue her weight gain in a safe, supportive community environment; either a supported living residential, or 

 at home with her mum. 

Please support Saffron in being given appropriate treatment, and put an end to this abuse of the mental health act. Her treatment is not the 'least restrictive' option and does not consider her individual needs. It has taken away all her hope for the future and left her feeling scared, isolated, and unable to cope. 

Saffron deserves the chance to gain weight through eating, and when stable she needs to be back in the community - not in an eating disorder hospital that cannot provide the right support for her.