The Cheshire and Merseyside Eating Disorder Service is a dedicated community eating disorder service that was established through a partnership with the University of Liverpool research team, following a successful National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA)-funded treatment trial. They cover an overall population of approximately 758,000.
The Cheshire and Merseyside Eating Disorder Service is a dedicated community eating disorder service that was established through a partnership with the University of Liverpool research team, following a successful National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA)-funded treatment trial. They cover an overall population of approximately 758,000.
An audit of the service in 2008 showed that they received 83 referrals and accepted 59 for assessment; 52 of these new referrals went on to receive treatment. Out of the 52 who accepted treatment, 9 were offered admission. The audit recorded that 49.3% of the referrals came via GPs, although the service accepts referrals from a variety of sources (as recommended in Section 3.2, although they do not yet accept self-referrals).
The Cheshire and Merseyside Eating Disorder Service provides treatment packages on an outpatient and day patient basis, with a focus on community care that involves the family in all cases. Because of this service design, there has been a significant reduction in inpatient admissions and bed usage by young people with an eating disorder in the area, both within NHS Tier 4 CAMHS, and NHS-funded independent health services.
The service has demonstrated a commitment to involving families and carers in the treatment process, which is a component that has been shown to be valued by young people, parents and carers (as outlined in Section 3.5). The service has systematically conducted audits on the experience of young people and their families and carers at the end of treatment, and has looked at user satisfaction with the multi-family therapy groups they provide, with very positive results. Clinical outcomes are also reviewed and positive results have been published (APS Group Scotland, 2012) and an HTA monograph. The service has established a sound outcome evaluation protocol, as recommended in Section 3.2.8.
The service is dedicated to improving skills (as recommended in 4.3.4) and funding is provided for training of multidisciplinary teams alongside service provision. In addition, staff attend annual training conferences for Tier 3 CAMHS. They have established a dedicated multidisciplinary team, which includes 2 psychiatrists who lead the team, a specialist registrar, 2 clinical psychologists, therapists trained in a range of interventions and a dietician. The service employs 10 WTE clinical staff and has approximately 2 WTE support staff, which is broadly in line with the recommendations in 1.1.1.
