2019-20 Eating Disorders HIT successes

Eating Disorders Health Integration Team (ED HIT) Directors Dr Helen Malson and Dr Sanni Norweg look back on the team’s work over the last year.

It was a busy year for our team and there are many achievements that we are proud of.

In May 2019, we held our fifth eating disorders research conference at the University of Bristol. It was well attended with around 50 academics, clinicians, people with lived experience, carers, students and third sector workers. Delegate feedback was very positive, and the meeting provided plenty of opportunities for networking.

Working closely with patient and public (PPI) contributors has been a key part of our work and we have been strengthening our PPI activity in a number of ways. Katie Legge, our PPI workstream lead, has supported several projects which include collaborating with the Bristol Bones and Joints Health Integration team to share best practice of matching public representatives with projects. We have also recently welcomed Carolyn Trippick as our second PPI lead. Carolyn will work with Katie on several projects and will be taking a lead in developing our social media presence.

In June 2019, The House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) published a report which also included several recommendations that we endorsed. The report was the result of an inquiry into significant failings in NHS eating disorder services and our recommendations include improving training and resources for doctors on eating disorders, introducing an ageless self-referral triage service and disseminating public awareness materials in places such as schools and GP surgeries.

We have increased specialist knowledge within our HIT with the appointment of Ann Taylor and Monica Potter to our management team. Ann and Monica are from the specialist Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) eating disorder team and are working with us in developing seamless transition pathways between CAMHS and adult eating disorder services.