Chamber and committees

We remain committed to improving mental health service provision in primary care settings, including early detection and care for those presenting with an eating disorder.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan (2023) sets out our ambition to drive a shift in the balance of care across mental health to ensure a focus on prevention and early intervention in the community, including a focus on providing high quality mental health care in General Practice.

We are committed to supporting people to access the right care at the right time. That is why we have allocated £55.5 million to Health Boards this year to improve the quality and delivery of mental health services for all, including eating disorder services.

We have also provided Beat, the UK’s largest Eating Disorder charity, with over £600,000 to provide a range of support services for those impacted by an eating disorder. This includes the introduction of Beyond the Symptoms Training for GPs and Healthcare professionals to support them to identify when a patient has an eating disorder, and to confidently intervene early.

Additionally, the Scottish Government has recently developed a National Specification for the Care and Treatment of Eating Disorders in Scotland which will be published later this year. The National Specification outlines a national minimum level of service which will support local services to deliver person-centred, safe and effective care and covers all levels of treatment for eating disorders, from primary care all the way through to specialist inpatient care.

We are also establishing a National Eating Disorder Network which will look at improving specialist eating disorder services and links between primary and secondary services.