Eating disorders: national network - terms of reference

Context 

In 2020, the Minister for Mental Health announced that the Scottish Government would take forward a National Review of Eating Disorder Services, which would build on the work of the Mental Welfare Commission’s report ‘Hope for the future - A report on a series of visits by the Mental Welfare Commission looking at care, treatment and support for people with eating disorders in Scotland’. The purpose for the review was to provide a full picture of the current system of support that is available for those with an eating disorder, and their families and carers, in Scotland, and provide recommendations for improvements. The national review published their recommendations in March 2021. Their full report was published in June 2021. 

Following publication of the review’s recommendations, an implementation group was formed to take forward the development and delivery of the recommendations, which is in line with recommendation 2 from the review. The group was jointly chaired by former MSP Dennis Robertson, who has campaigned for greater awareness of eating disorders, and Dr Charlotte Oakley, who was previously the Clinical Lead of Connect-Eating Disorders in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and who co-led the National Review. 

The implementation group met for the first time in August 2021, with the aim to ensure that stakeholders, through collaboration and engagement, are empowered to provide their input, experience and expertise to play a leading role in the delivery of the recommendations. The group met for the final time in September 2022, and published the Eating Disorders Implementation Group’s final report in April 2023. 

We have made good progress responding to the short term recommendations made by the review. The National Network for Eating Disorders has been established to support delivery of the remaining medium and long-term recommendations and following recommendation 3 of the review:

Recommendation 3: Coordination of national activity and data collection

A National Eating Disorder Network should be established and funded by Scottish Government. This permanent network will take over from the work of the implementation group to support the implementation of the recommendations on an ongoing basis. It will also be responsible for the coordination of national functions including training, national level service development, setting quality standards, and coordinating research and innovation networks for eating disorders.

Purpose

The network will be responsible for the coordination of national functions including: training; national level service development; implementation of the National Specification; research; and innovation developments. The network will seek to address the medium and long term recommendations of the National Review of Eating Disorders Services and address issues of inequality in access to services.

Remit

As described by the national review’s recommendations, the network’s remit includes the following strategic actions: 

• support the implementation of the National Specification for the Care and Treatment of Eating Disorders in Scotland, including outlining what eating disorder services should be available in Scotland; recommending and supporting any tests of change required to assess agreed outcomes and impact of services
• facilitating the collation of national data with the aim of providing ongoing annual audits of the prevalence of all eating disorder diagnoses, analysis of nationally agreed datasets to measure service delivery and outcomes, and collation of Significant Incident Reviews to report annually to Scottish Government
• working with Public Health Scotland and other agencies to build, implement and evaluate a public health strategy for eating disorder prevention in Scotland that creates a shared vision and outcomes
• support and lead on training for healthcare and other professionals taking forward and expanding on the work of the implementation group. Ensuring that training offers are promoted and available nationally
• support the development of online, user friendly educational public-facing information and support, including self-help/management support, that meets the needs of people in Scotland
• added to this exploring opportunities for a professional platform to host any Scottish information gathering, research and shared resources. A space for shared knowledge and best practice for existing networks will ensure that work is joined up and priorities aligned

Structure and organisation

The network will be staffed by individuals who will each lead on an objective outlined above. 

The Core Team of the network is comprised by Professor Cathy Richards, as Chair and former CAMHS Lead Clinician and Head of Psychology NHS Lothian, and two Clinical Advisors experienced in both child and adolescent and adult treatment and support. The full network is multi-disciplinary, and represents a variety of geographical areas. The network also includes individuals from the third sector who have the knowledge, skills and contact networks to deliver on the network’s objectives as well as individuals with lived experience of eating disorders. The network will be supported by working groups, which will be focussed on delivery and implementation of priority actions agreed by the network.

Membership 

The network is chaired by Professor Cathy Richards who is working closely with two clinical advisors. Membership of the network will be comprised of senior representatives from key stakeholder organisations ideally placed to drive forward existing and emerging priorities and provide strategic direction. This will include national health services, third sector, and lived experience representation. 

The voices and experiences of anyone impacted by eating disorders remain central to this work. The network will work closely with the Lived Experience Panel and representatives from the third sector to ensure meaningful engagement and participation will be incorporated and built upon in the development of the network. 

The Chair has responsibility to chair quarterly meetings which include:

• conduct the meeting according to the agenda, ensuring that all members are encouraged to provide relevant input throughout the meeting and that any recommendations are adequately resolved and agreed to by the members
• manage and seek updates to actions from the previous meetings
• confirm actions taken and issues resolved, and agree on how to progress any actions that are not completed
• ensure that all meetings are kept to time and that group members adhere to the agenda to ensure effective coverage of all items

Members of the National Eating Disorders Network can be found on the group page.

Members should actively engage with the work of the network, taking responsibility for progress of actions where agreed by the network. Members of the network will ensure that the work of the network is shared within their professional field and networks. They will act as both a voice for the network to share its work and progress, but also to feed back the views of their profession/networks. Members will participate in working groups and will identify others who could contribute to working groups. Members are expected to attend network meetings or, if necessary, suggest an appropriate replacement. The Chair will review network membership as needed, and flexibility will be retained to ensure the membership remains best place to progress outcomes. 

Secretariat

The network will be supported by Scottish Government Officials who will lead on secretariat and project management for the network. 

Accountability and decision making 

The network is an independent and time-limited delivery group. It has no executive functions. It will report, through the Chairs, to Scottish ministers. 

The network is not established on a statutory basis. It is therefore not subject to the formal public appointments process and the requirements of the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland. Members are appointed by the Chair. 

All members of the network and those asked to participate in work involving the network will be asked to declare any conflicts of interest. Any action to be taken on the basis of these declarations will be at the discretion of the Chair.

Remuneration

The Chair and the two Clinical Advisors will be remunerated for their time, in accordance with the Scottish Government Public Sector Pay Policy.  

Members whose attendance is supported by their employer as part of their paid employment will not receive remuneration or travel and subsistence.  

Members whose attendance is not supported by their employer as part of their paid employment, may be remunerated appropriately for their time. Travel and subsistence will be paid at normal Scottish Government rates.

Communications strategy

A meeting agenda will be circulated two weeks in advance of the network meeting. A note of each meeting summarising key points and agreed actions will be drafted and circulated around the network within four weeks, seeking corrections within two weeks following, and subsequently cleared, to allow members to update their organisational interests and associated networks. Once agreed, the note will be published on the Scottish Government website. 

Lifetime of the network

The network will be active until the end of this parliamentary term, until May 2026 and will be reviewed after 12 months to ensure it is delivering its aims.