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Waiting times for those with eating disorders reduced but concerns some cases are being missed

By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter

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Waiting times for Nottingham people needing assessment and treatment for eating disorders have fallen – but concerns have been raised some conditions are being overlooked.

Nottingham City Council met today (June 19) to discuss updates to the mental health and eating disorder services in the city.

A committee was presented with updates from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the local NHS organisation responsible for mental health and community health services in the county.

Recent figures show notable drops in wait times for those with eating disorders needing for assessment or treatment in a year.

For the 12 months to March this year, the average wait time for an eating disorder assessment at the Nottinghamshire Eating Disorder Service was 4.7 weeks, an almost two-week drop from 6.5 weeks in 2024.

The average wait time for actual treatment for an eating disorder was 13.9 weeks in 2025 compared to a 20.25-week average in 2024.

This six-week drop in waiting for treatment was said to be partially attributed to a service from Derby-based charity First Steps.

It offers support for those with eating disorders and was commissioned by the local NHS Integrated Care Board in April 2025 to provide early intervention for patients in Nottingham City and South Nottinghamshire.

It is available through referral and self-referral for 120 cases per year.

During the meeting, Councillor Georgia Power (Lab), chair of the committee, raised concerns some people with eating disorders and those referring them could struggle to find the services.

She said: “On the First Steps Service, you’ve (the NHS) said that’s available for self-referral. Has anyone from the trust or ICB gone on the First Steps website and attempted to make a referral?

“There’s no information that they work in Nottingham.”

She added that none of the six GPs – who all work across different practices – that she had been speaking to knew First Steps had a service they could refer patients to.

She added eating disorder referrals made by GPs can get rejected if a patient’s BMI does not fall under a certain point.

She said in the meeting: “All [six] of them said they don’t make referrals because they know there’s no point – the patients won’t get accepted [to the wider service].

“I’m wondering what conversations the ICB has had with GPs about their experiences [referring people to the eating disorder services]?”

Alex Julian, Senior Mental Health Commissioning Manager, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board, said: “We have an eating disorder service steering group that meets on a bi-monthly basis, we have a representative who is also a GP who refers patients through to the eating disorder services, so it’s something I’m confident is not across the board.

“The six GPs is an issue which I’m sure we can look into.”

Jan Sensier, Executive Director of Partnerships & Strategy, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “There’s a weekly email the ICB send out to GPs with information – [we] could put something in that.”

Speaking to the LDRS following the meeting, Cllr Power added: “I think we’re in a space at the moment, but no one will actually admit it, where people with certain eating disorders aren’t getting access to eating disorder treatment and that’s not ok.”