MANY young people with urgent cases of eating disorders in York are not receiving treatment as quickly as they should, according to figures.

Data published by NHS England reveals that during the first quarter of 2021, only eight out of 20 patients with urgent eating disorders under the age of 19 had been referred for treatment within a week within the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

At North Yorkshire CCG, only 10 out of 28 such patients had been referred within a week.

NHS rules state that 95 per cent of urgent eating disorder cases - when the patient is at risk of dying - must begin treatment within a week, while routinely referred patients should be seen within four weeks.

Tom Quinn, of eating disorder charity Beat, said the pandemic had a "massive impact" on those with eating disorders and their loved ones, adding that it was unsurprising to see cases among young people rising.

He said: "Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses, and accessing specialist help as soon as possible leads to the best chances of making a full recovery."

He added: "Every person with an eating disorder should be able to access high quality treatment in their local area as quickly as possible."

In a joint statement, Vale of York CCG, North Yorkshire CCG, and Tees, Esk, and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which has been the Mental Health Trust for York since 2015, said: “Since the pandemic we have seen a significant increase in the number of referrals for children and young people with eating disorders.

“There has also been an increase in acuity (level of illness) which means more urgent cases - this is being experienced both locally and nationally.

“To support demand there has been increased investment in the North Yorkshire and York Eating Disorder service, including additional staff to increase capacity – where we were unable to see young people within the time frame, we always carry out an initial assessment upon referral.”

Dr David Fair, of Jorvik Gillygate Practice, said: “If a patient cannot get an urgent referral they can contact Crisis Team without a GP.”

Sheffield was the only CCG with a comparable referral rate, referring five out of 12 patients, and Tees Valley referred 13 out of 20.