Care and treatment of eating disorders - national specification: consultation

Access and Equalities

A key priority in developing this Specification has been addressing the inequalities in outcomes and experiences for people accessing eating disorder treatment. We know that access to, and experience of eating disorder care and support is not experienced equally across the population.

We want the Specification to support equitable access to eating disorder treatment, as well as equity in the experiences and outcomes of people using services. This is a key focus of our consultation on the Specification.

We acknowledge that as we continue to shape the Specification, there is more we need to do in terms of listening to and learning from people and member-led organisations. In addition, we are undertaking an Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA) and are using the findings from this to inform our engagement.

Groups of people who experience inequalities include those with protected characteristics such as sex, gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, and disability. Often these are the same groups in the population that are systematically disadvantaged in many different aspects of their lives. We also know that some people with neurodivergent differences will experience a higher risk of poorer physical health and mental health and difficulty accessing the right support.

In addition, individuals living in the most deprived areas report higher levels of common physical health, mental health problems and mental ill health (including suicidal behaviour), with lower levels of wellbeing than those living in the most affluent areas. People can also experience disadvantage due to adverse childhood events such as being a victim of abuse, poor housing, traumatic events, and poor working conditions. These groups have poorer health and mental health than others and face greater barriers in getting help.

We also know that people with severe and enduring mental illness are themselves more likely to experience poverty, homelessness, incarceration, social isolation and unemployment. They are also at greater risk of poor physical health and reduced life expectancy.

Therefore, it is important that inequality is not only considered in terms of single characteristics or experiences. In reality, people’s lives are multi-dimensional and complex. We all have distinct experiences of inequality that need to be understood. This is known as “intersectionality”.