Leeds mother's call for more eating disorder hospital places

Sharon Ashley said more places were needed to allow early intervention "before the disease gets a grip".

A mother is calling for more specialist beds for children with eating disorders after her daughter was sent 40 miles (64km) for treatment.

Sharon Ashley's daughter spent a year in Sheffield after the Leeds youngster was diagnosed with anorexia in 2021.

Ms Ashley said that more places were needed to allow early intervention "before the disease gets a grip".

A Department of Health spokesperson said they wanted treatment to take place "as close to home as possible".

Ms Ashley said she struggled to get help and her daughter was only admitted to hospital after tests showed that her heartbeat was slow.

Her initial admission was to a general ward in her home city as there were no specialist beds available.

'Horrible illness'

"She just started to kind of disappear in front of my eyes she was just so consumed by the illness," her mother said.

"She just looked tortured every day, it's such a horrible illness for such a young person."

About three months later, a bed was found in a specialist unit in South Yorkshire to help treat her condition.

Ms Ashley said that her family life "just stopped" due to the daily toll of travel.

Sharon's daughter was treated 40 miles (64km) in Sheffield

"I don't want to seem ungrateful, because getting the bed in Sheffield saved my daughter's life, it's just amazing, " she said.

"I know there are families who travel further distances.

"But, it is difficult, your child is really young and they're far from home and you're travelling every day to see them you can only stay for a certain amount of time."

NHS figures show that more than 1,700 young people with eating disorders are waiting for treatment.

She added that increasing specialist bed numbers would mean there would be fewer young people "stuck in side rooms on medical wards where they're just not set up to provide the care that's needed".

Fabian Hamilton MP raised the family's case in Parliament

Her call was supported by Claire Reynolds from the eating disorders charity BEAT, who said that "early intervention is the key" to treating eating disorders.

"Sadly, this is not an isolated case," said Ms Reynolds

Ms Ashley's case was raised in Parliament by Leeds North East MP Fabian Hamilton.

He called on the prime minster to increase spending on mental health services for young people.

In response, Rishi Sunak said that treatment for young people with eating disorders "is currently expanding".

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "Eating disorders can be devastating, and we want to ensure that people are treated as close to home as possible.

"We are investing an extra £53m a year into children and young people's eating disorder services, which will increase capacity in 70 community support teams across the country, including in Leeds."

They said an extra £79m had been put into children's mental health services in 2021/22.