National Assembly for Wales

Following the 2018 eating disorder review, we were clear that the changes required would not happen overnight, particularly given the breadth and scale of the recommendations. However, we have used the review findings to increase funding year on year to deliver improvements to eating disorder services across Wales.   To maintain action through the short, medium and long term, we also continue a phased approach to improved services through our engagement with clinicians, those living with eating disorders and the families and friends who support them.

Since 2019, funding increases through the mental health service improvement fund have been made available for specific mental health priorities and aligned to the delivery of ‘A Healthier Wales’, the Welsh Government’s long term plan for health and social services.  The additional recurrent funding has been targeted towards delivering improvements in specific priority areas in the Together for Mental Health Delivery Plan 2019-2022. One of the six priority areas for each year has been Eating Disorder Services.

In line with the recommendations from the 2018 review, service improvement funding has been targeted in order to:

• Reconfigure eating disorder services towards earlier intervention.
• Work towards achieving the NICE standards on eating disorders within two years.
• Develop plans to achieve a four week waiting times across adult and child eating disorder services.

General progress against increasing funding of eating disorder services, alongside ED service improvement is monitored and assessed through the Mental Health Delivery Plan health board reporting process on a six monthly basis.  In addition, we monitor and support the progress of health board improvement through the NHS Wales Eating Disorder Network and at monthly meetings with the National Clinical Lead for Eating Disorders.  We know that the ongoing pandemic has particularly impacted eating disorder services and therefore during 2020 and 2021, in line with wider reduction in reporting requirements, we did not require health board teams to submit formal progress assessments against the above funding criteria.  However, we are currently exploring ways to assess this progress during 2022.

Health boards develop their service improvement funding proposals against the key priorities for the funding and their local population need.  The 2018 eating disorder review recognised variation of service delivery across health boards, highlighting that each health board has started its service improvement from a different position. The table attached (annex 1) provides an overall total by health board of the Service Improvement Funding provided to each Health Board for financial years 2019/20, 20/21 and 21/22.

Network reporting has confirmed this recurrent funding has significantly increased workforce numbers both in specialist ED services and within CAMHS and has provided additional training for staff across Wales.

Funding is just part the solution and recruitment into specialist eating disorder posts remains a challenge.  We recognise the need to develop the eating disorder services workforce and this is a focus of the Health Education and Improvement Wales Strategic Mental Health Workforce Plan, to develop a sustainable workforce for mental health services in Wales.

Annex 1

All Age ED SIF allocations from 2019/20 to 2020/21

* Cwm Taf are currently undergoing a transformation of their mental health services and their financial allocation for 2021/22 has not yet been agreed.