A CANBERRA dad who’s watched his daughter battle with anorexia nervosa, is renewing calls for improved services for eating disorders in the ACT.

David Quilty, 58, says Canberra is in desperate need of an acute in-patient facility for adults suffering with an eating disorder.

With no specialist in-patient services for people living with eating disorders in the ACT, and community-based eating disorder services “overstretched”, Mr Quilty says many families have “no choice” but to travel interstate for help.

“There are no specialist adult public or private-eating disorder beds in Canberra and general medical and mental health wards lack the skills or resources needed,” says Mr Quilty.

“The community-based Eating Disorder Program is overstretched and it’s near impossible to see a psychiatrist in Canberra. 

“Many have no choice but to take their loved ones to Sydney for treatment, an option made harder by covid, or they struggle on with little support. 

“A light needs to be shone on a broken system that is causing such pain and anguish for Canberra families.”

Mr Quilty, who acts as the ACT-based director of the support group Eating Disorders Families Australia (EDFA), says his calls for an acute in-patient facility are motivated by his desire to ensure that other young people – like his daughter – don’t needlessly suffer because services are not as available for young adults.

“If you are under age you can get help through the children’s and adolescent ward at the Canberra Hospital, but if you are an adult in Canberra aged 18 or older there are no beds that specialise in eating disorders in the public or the private system,” Mr Quilty says.

“At the moment if you are an adult with an eating disorder you might end up in hospital and be treated for the mental or physical results of the eating disorder, but there’s little or no treatment of the actual disorder, so you just go around in circles.

“There needs to be a dedicated specialised eating disorder in-patient facility within a hospital with specialised dieticians, psychologists and psychiatrists, to make sure that people who need acute care can get it.”

A $2.2 million ACT government-funded clinical hub for eating disorders is due to be in operation next financial year.

There are also plans for a $13.5 million residential eating disorder centre, promised in 2019, with funds available this financial year.

The ACT government has been tasked with finding a location in Canberra for the residential service and designing a model of care, but it’s yet to be established.

“It hasn’t been built yet,” Mr Quilty says.

“Whilst a facility like this will be good for people who are stable and need some support, the facility is not for people with an eating disorder that needs acute care.

“And the other issue is how do you ever get to the residential facility if you can’t get the right support in an acute setting.”

According to the eating disorder charity Butterfly Foundation, around a million people are currently affected by eating disorders.

Data from the National Mental Health Commission shows a 25 to 50 per cent surge in the number of people being treated for eating disorders across the country, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Eating disorders are challenging and deadly,” says Mr Quilty.

“Lockdown and restrictions have made it especially hard for people to get the treatment they need. It’s not good.”

Mr Quilty says caring for a loved one with an eating disorder can be a difficult and often lonely journey.

“My daughter, who is a young adult, is still very sick, and has struggled for many years,” Ms Quilty says.

“For someone who has an eating disorder it basically takes over and rules their life and it can have a terrible impact on the sufferer’s family.

“My wife had a very good job and she had to give it up for four years.”

But organisations such as EDFA – a group set up by parents who have cared for young people with an eating disorder – are there to help, Mr Quilty says.

“When EDFA was set up there wasn’t a lot of help out there for parents and carers,” he says.

“What EDFA does is support the families by providing a range of peer support, education, mentoring, information and resources on how as a family you can support your loved one.

“We give a voice to families and carers.”