Dump the Scales: National Eating Disorder Strategy
Right now, across the UK, people with eating disorders are being denied care, turned away from services, and left to become more unwell. Some are dying. Not because recovery isn’t possible but because the system is failing them. This has to change.
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People are being told they are “not ill enough” for treatment
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Others are told they are “too complex” to be helped
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People are on waiting lists for months, sometimes years
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Families are left to manage life-threatening illnesses alone
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People are being discharged when they are still dangerously unwell
This is what a broken system looks like.
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Dump the Scales are demanding urgent, national action with Governmental Leadership.
We urgently need a comprehensive, properly funded, cross-government National Eating Disorder Strategy that:
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Delivers an Inquiry to urgently review the current services and why people are dying or getting worse in treatment
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Guarantees timely access to specialist treatment for people of all ages
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Provides dedicated support for all eating disorder diagnoses, including Binge Eating Disorder and ARFID
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Invests in early intervention and prevention
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Addresses workforce shortages and ensures proper training
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Tackles inequalities in access and outcomes
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Commits to long-term, sustainable funding
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Eating disorders must be treated as the public health emergency they are.
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Ensure treatment models are disability and neurodiversity-informed
We hear devastating stories every single day
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People being passed between services.
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People deteriorating while they wait.
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People reaching crisis before they are taken seriously.
For too long people with eating disorders have been failed. For too long people with eating disorders have been neglected.
We are calling on the Government for a standalone eating disorder strategy. Eating disorders are among the most serious and life-threatening mental illnesses yet they have been overlooked and underfunded for far too long.
As a result, they now have one of the largest treatment gaps in modern healthcare. Right now, too many people are waiting for help.
Too many are being turned away. Too many are deteriorating while services are stretched beyond breaking point.
Lives are being lost. Families are being torn apart. The human and financial cost of inaction is devastating.
