To think the NHS should not be cutting funding for Anorexia and EDs if they are going to be spending ££££ on weight loss jabs

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Anorexia and ED numbers are soaring. My daughter has battled the disease for 6 years. It kills far quicker than obesity and the sooner it is treated the better the outcome. During the last few years I have witnessed so many parents fighting for treatment and now in some severe cases patients are just being given palliative care.

Most areas are now planning cuts to specialist eating disorder services.

The fact we apparantly have ££££ to spend on weight loss jabs when children and young people are essentially being left to die is not ok and highlights a quick fix medicated approach by the NHS as opposed to longer term MH provision.

And so are Anorexia patients. So they can just die then.

Like I said it's apples and oranges. It's like comparing methadone prescriptions with drug rehab. One costs a few pounds and requires no inpatient treatment, the other cost circa 30k a residential stay.

If they can treat thousands for a relatively low amount that can effectively save £££££ theoretically over all those peoples lifetimes. Then that's what they'll do.

But patients ARE taking responsibility for it. The vast, vast majority (I have a vague recollection of seeing the amount 90% mentioned somewhere???) of those on WLI are funding it themselves. Only those in much greater need are funded by the nhs.
Whilst I appreciate your concern about your dd, it is not a competition between anorexia and obesity. The two are not related (in terms of treatment/funding protocols at all.

It’s not just a few pounds though. Weight loss jabs cost a lot by of money and only work whilst patients are on them.

is that correct? I pay approx that a month - and the more expensive ones are around £250? a month not a week

This.

And anorexia kills a lot faster as OP rightly said so, very cynically, less burden on the NHS budget.

It absolutely is if ED services need to be cut to fund but apparantly there is money on tap for weight loss jabs.

Do you think smokers should personally contribute to their lung cancer treatment costs?

Should drinkers pay for their own liver transplant?

Should an amateur football player pay for the ambulance that scoops him up with his broken leg?

these are all arguably known risks that people choose to indulge in, like overeating.

Going to come at this from a different angle - binge eating disorder is also an ED that benefits from similar intervention to anorexia and bulimia. Often people with binge eating disorder have a history of other disordered eating patterns and significant interpersonal trauma.

Some ED services don't accept referrals for binge eating disorder and people for whom eating is a significant coping strategy for major psychological distress are being funnelled toward weight loss injections and gastric bypass/sleeve/band operations (which do have significant health implications) without any proper psychological support.

Ok, so what is your solution? Not allocate money to jabs? Then what? Not treat people who have heart disease, diabetes and hypertension due to obesity? Also stop treating any person who smokes, participates in any form of sport?
You surely must see that "quick fix" is a very cost-effective thing that saves money in multiple services. So unless you solution is cutting access to cardiovascular and orthopedic services to people who may or may not make unwise choices, I really don't see where you think all this extra funding is going to come from.

It needs to be shared around not all put into one group of people.

Weight loss jabs seem to be a quick answer. So I think they should be funded. I don't know enough about anorexia but it seems there are no answers or effective treatment.

I don’t notice smokers and drinkers having their services cut.

The Weight Loss Injections you talk of are very difficult to get on NHS. They are DIABETIC medication in the first place.

They are also cheaper and less dangerousv to the NHS than bariatric surgery, which is often offered first.

Do you think diabetes shouldn't be treated? Causing limb loss and blindness in favour of eating disorders.

That's the cost to the NHS, not the cost of private medication. So this will include GP consultation and whatever other ho-ha they have to do before prescribing (?bloods).

Look, I get that you're totally out of your mind with anxiety. Anorexia is an evil illness.

But begrudging other people treatment on the NHS is not the solution. You want people to be forced to pay towards weight loss drugs? So are you also arguing that families should pay towards anorexia support as well? You want fairness, so presumably you'd be willing to put your own hand in your pocket as well?

The NHS is funding weight loss drugs because there is a high return on investment. Ultimately, they save money in the long run. That doesn't mean that they're taking money away from anorexia treatments. It means that they're freeing up more resource in the NHS to spend where it's needed.

By all means, campaign for better ED care. I support you. But don't confuse it with this issue.

64% of adults in the UK are overweight or obese. It makes sense for the majority to have more funding.

This highlights the ignorance on the subject. There absolutely are effective treatments and the sooner they are provided the better the outcome and the lower the cost.

I'm confused where you get the impression that specialist ED services are being cut? It's still a priority area in the NHS Long Term Plan.

I agree with you op and I have said similar to you on here before about anorexia being more deadly than obesity. It will fall on some pretty deaf ears though as a lot of people are absolutely fixated on being thin at all costs.

I am so sorry about your dd struggling with it. It is an awful, awful illness.

My sibling is a psychiatric doctor who specialises in eating disorders and I haven't heard anything about cuts yet, but I don't disbelieve you

The problem.with anorexia is it's incredibly difficult to get rid of fully. Most people have to learn to repress it every single day. But it's not like booze or drugs where you can physically avoid them fully if you have the willpower. You have to face you fear three or more times a day.

The NHS will basically section you and feed you up until you're out of the danger zone, but many people actually don't want to or cannot fully stop that habit so they keep relapsing. And the treatment is scary and only deals with the surface problem which is very low weight.

Osteoporosis is a big problem amongst ED sufferers. Meaning lots of broken bones throughout their lives.

£122pwk wouldn't even cover the cost of someone with anorexia seeing a therapist on the NHS. It's like taking money away from cervical smear screening to spend it on treatment for people only diagnosed with cervical cancer.

Weight loss injections are no more a quick fix than getting a woman with AN to eat a sandwich is.

Families contribute towards Anorexia treatment with loss of work and a multitude of other costs. The default treatment is family based therapy which parents administer( if you’re lucky enough to get treatment).

Private prescription costs are different to what the drug companies charge the NHS.