Briefing for House of Lords debate on NHS eating disorder services

29 June 2023

We have briefed Peers in advance of a debate in the House of Lords on the progress that has been made in relation to NHS eating disorder services, following the publication of our 2017 report, ‘Ignoring the Alarms: How eating disorders are failing patients’. The debate is scheduled for 29 June 2023.

Our briefing outlines that little progress that has been made in the six years since the report was published. We have recommended that: 

  • the Government fulfils its promise to treat eating disorders as a key priority so there is meaningful change in this area and patients receive the quality of care they deserve

  • more work is done to improve the training available for clinicians which is fundamental to improving awareness of eating disorders in the NHS

  • leaders at all levels of the NHS embed a culture of learning from mistakes, taking accountability for using that learning to improve care for patients and their families, and responding to mistakes with compassion.