People with eating disorders have been waiting longer for treatment even though the Government has increased funding in an effort to reduce waiting lists.
More than half of NHS Trusts in England reported that waiting times had, on average, risen beyond the target of one month. This was for young people with non-urgent eating disorders set out in 2015 guidelines.
Campaigners said that the figures showed eating disorders were not being given priority within the NHS despite the allocation in 2014 of an additional £150 million over five years to guarantee faster treatment for young people.
The most recent NHS figures show that 26.6 per cent of young patients had to wait longer than one month to start treatment. NHS England said, “growing awareness is now being matched by a major increase in services”.