Two acute beds for more than 7 million – no joke

Two acute beds for more than 7 million – no joke

There is no place like home, surrounded by everyone and everything that represents ‘safety, security and stability’, when recovering from an eating disorder. Ideally, hospital is the last place we want to be, but sometimes when ED goes on a rampage, it is the place we need to be. For the sake of our physical and mental health. For our life. This petition deserves support.  It is a plea for help in the State of New South Wales but is relevant for all of Australia and beyond.

The petition explains:
“For the state of NSW there are currently 2 acute inpatient beds. This has been reduced from the initial and inadequate 4 beds in 2010.
“Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness; according to The Butterfly Foundation, the mortality rate of anorexia nervosa is 15-20 per cent, with people with anorexia 32 times more likely to suicide than their healthy peers. Statistics for other eating disorders (bulimia nervosa and EDNOS) are poorly researched but outcomes are estimated to be on par with that of anorexia nervosa. The average duration of treatment is seven years. Eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes. The biomedical approach to care means that patients in the public system are treated when most physically unwell (usually in a state of anorexia nervosa), leaving the illness to most often be treated as a physical illness and not a mental illness.
“The health and socio-economic costs are also high with bulimia and anorexia being the 8th and 10th leading causes respectively of burden of disease and injury in young women (18-24 years) in Australia, measured by disability-adjusted life years (10) and the percentage of disability-adjusted life years associated with eating disorders being comparable to schizophrenia.’ (The Butterfly Foundation, Eating Disorders Statistics).
“The reality is that eating disorders are a mental illness with dire physical consequences. With adequate early intervention, there needn’t be a high mortality rate, nor should there be physical complication associated with a mental disorder.
“According to the Centre for Eating and Dieting Disorders website (run through the University of Sydney and from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital itself) ‘2 beds in an acute psychiatric unit for people with severe anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa who have already accessed local Area primary, secondary and tertiary services. Available to adults from any AHS [Area Health Service] in NSW.” And what conditions are provided care under this particular inpatient service? ‘AN, BN, EDNOS (although, due to service pressure, usually reserved for severe cases of AN and BN)’. Further information on the RPAH inpatient unit here.
“RPAH also offers a day program and an outpatient program. Both with extensive waiting lists. When people are acutely unwell, there is no time for waiting lists. The Statewide Eating Disorders Outpatient program is open for half a day per week, with the expectation that this will service the entire State of NSW’s eating disorder patients. The Westmead Hospital offers four inpatient beds, but to be accessed the patient must reside in the Westmead Hospital catchment area. This is inadequate for the high level of need for the program and of no assistance to anyone living outside of the Westmead Catchment.
“The treatment provided for eating disorders is similar to an oncologist saying: ‘Look, I know you’ve got breast cancer, but before you can get any treatment for it, we’ll have to wait for it to metastasizes to your spine and if you want any intensive treatment, we’ll have to wait until it’s in your liver and lungs also because we can only offer treatment to the most acutely ill in the State.’ That would be considered ludicrous and front-page news, yet patients are knocked back for treatment or provided inadequate treatment on an almost daily basis.
Besides requesting an immediate comprehensive and independent review of public eating disorders treatment in NSW the petition seeks strict adherence to the Worldwide Charter for Action on Eating Disorders.”
The petition calls for changes to be implemented immediately to increase the care available to eating disorders patients, their families and friends, and more support for health professionals.

Take a stand, sign the petition, help this call for better care to echo around the world.