In conjunction with Dorset HealthCare, Dorset Mental Health Forum recently undertook a survey about eating disorder services designed to obtain feedback that would help to improve local services.
Esther Osborne from Dorset Mental Health Forum explained: “I have suffered from an eating disorder for many years and have first hand experiences of many of the services available. We felt it was vital to get the thoughts and opinions of others who have experienced the care available to them. We are thrilled at the number of people who took the time to complete the questionnaire and have been able to use these comments in order to look at how people feel about the existing services. We now plan to use these responses to work with those responsible to influence any future changes to local service provision.”
Respondents comprised both service users and carers with 47% of respondents having had direct personal experience of an eating disorder, and 37% said that they found having access to specialist care and advice was the most helpful part of their recovery. Three individuals even commented that specialist services had helped to save their life: “In the immediate moment, the inpatient unit save my life and got me back to normal eating. Day services helped continue this pattern with intensive support.”
86% of respondents were female and 72% had experience of accessing an eating disorder service in Dorset. 48% of respondents believed that support throughout recovery was the most important aspect of their care and 26% commented that having person centred care was important.
Respondents said that co-ordination of services and information was vital and access to other relevant services, such as supported housing and self management was also important. In addition, they commented that friends and family play an important role in the healing process but are often not given enough guidance or are not involved sufficiently in care plans.
Dr Ciarán Newell, Dorset HealthCare’s Consultant Nurse for Eating Disorders commented: “It is essential to understand the opinions of those who use our services. Picking up on some of the feedback, one of the initiatives we are currently developing to enhance services in Dorset is multi-family groups where whole families are fully involved in the recovery plan and offer support to each other in battling the eating disorder.“
Dorset Mental Health Forum and Dorset HealthCare will continue to work in partnership with commissioners inDorsetdrawing on the findings of the survey to enhance the services available to those who need them.
