Page 474 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 23 March 2022
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People with eating disorders often present with symptoms that can vary in severity, acuity, complexity and risk. As a result, managing eating disorders can be extremely complex. There is a need for a system-wide, integrated eating disorder service spectrum that is developmentally appropriate and flexible across the entire continuum of care, from early engagement to ongoing treatment, and addressing fluctuations in risk and condition. This approach is presented in the 2018 position statement as a stepped care model, which emphasises four key pillars that should work together to allow for patients to flexibly step up and step down into appropriate services according to their needs.
These are: generalist mental health services, including primary care and community programs; specialist eating disorders interventions, including day programs and outpatient clinics; local hospital interventions, including management of cases in general medicine and paediatric wards; and intensive tertiary supports, including multidisciplinary teams and models of care to support evidence-based treatment in emergency departments and hospital wards.
The current petition requests a progress update, including actions taken to improve access, resourcing and support for people accessing the eating disorders program. The update to the ACT eating disorders position statement, which I am tabling in the Assembly today, responds to the petition and provides a comprehensive summary of the work currently underway. I am very pleased to highlight some of the important work that has progressed since the 2018 position statement was tabled.
The territory-wide model of care for eating disorders will outline the guiding principles for the ACT government’s commitment to strengthening eating disorders services systems and provide an overview of the integrated, stepped model of care for all public eating disorder services in the ACT. This will enable seamless treatment and transition between and across primary care, community care and hospital settings.
This is supported by the development of system-wide options, rather than focusing on acute service delivery, and includes increased health promotion, early intervention and enhanced outpatient services. This will include appropriate referral pathways across services, with clear roles and mechanisms for consultation, collaboration and review. The territory-wide model of care for eating disorders is currently under development, with each clinical service’s model of care being individually reviewed, redeveloped, consulted on and endorsed prior to forming part of this overarching model of care.
The clinical hub was launched in January 2022. It is the central referral point for public eating disorder services in the ACT. Prior to this service launch, the clinical hub was established in stages and undertook considerable work to reduce the demand and waiting list experienced by the outpatient eating disorders program.
In July 2021 the clinical hub implemented two new service initiatives, called the Short Term Recovery Intervention for Disordered Eating—STRIDE—Program and parenting group. As at 4 March 2022, 19 families have been supported through the parenting group and 26 individuals have accessed the STRIDE Program.
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