Beat has responded to the Royal College of Psychiatrists' National Audit of Eating Disorders Service Mapping report.
Beat's Director of External Affairs, Tom Quinn, said:
"This service mapping for the audit is a vital first step to understanding service provision in England and improving care for people with eating disorders. It’s particularly worrying to see a growing disparity between child and adult service provision, with longer waiting times, inaccessible or non-existent self-referral options and patchy service availability seen across adult care. There’s also a real postcode lottery for certain eating disorders such as binge eating disorder, ARFID and night eating syndrome.
"We know from our community that reaching out for help requires a great deal of courage, so being told that there’s no local support available can be devastating. Being able to continue living at home often leads to the best outcomes, which is why we’re calling for everyone who could benefit to be given access to an intensive community or day service close to them.
"We urge Government and NHS decision makers to address these gaps without delay so that no one falls through the cracks – particularly if they have a long wait to access treatment ahead.
"However, one thing is clear: frontline staff are doing their best to support those in need, and given the strain teams are under it is even more admirable that 97% chose to participate. We’re proud to be partners on this audit and look forward to supporting future work."