Eating Disorders (Hansard, 6 July 2004)

§ Baroness Sharples
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I should declare that over 30 years ago, I was diagnosed with anorexia.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in implementing the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines for the treatment of eating disorders, published in January.

§ Lord Warner
My Lords, implementation of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines on eating disorders is a matter for primary care trusts, with strategic health authorities and the Healthcare Commission maintaining an oversight role.

§ Baroness Sharples
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Is he aware that more than 1.1 million people, most of them young people, are suffering from those illnesses? Their access to treatment is, at best, patchy and, in many places, inadequate. Surely GPs and practice nurses should receive advice on how they can recognise those illnesses so that they can prevent possible death.

§ Lord Warner
My Lords, services for people with eating disorders are available throughout the country, in both primary and secondary care, but we recognise that expertise and services are unequally distributed around the country. That is precisely why the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines were published in January as part of a programme to improve services.

§ Lord Clement-Jones
My Lords, one of the problems with eating disorders and their treatment is, to a large extent, the lack of a clinical evidence base on the most effective treatments. There has been some concern about the impact of regulations made under EU Clinical Trials Directive on the ability of those trials to be carried out. What can the Minister say on that subject?

§ Lord Warner
My Lords, we have been over the ground of the EU Clinical Trials Directive many times and no doubt we will go over it again. The Government's position is clear. We have implemented the EU directive. I am not aware that it is going to have any adverse effect on research in that particular area.

§ Lord Walton of Detchant
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the recommendations and 658 guidelines from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in this field are extremely welcome? Nevertheless, does he accept that many patients who suffer from eating disorders are very difficult indeed for doctors to identify because they often have a remarkable expertise in concealing the nature of their condition from their doctors, their parents and others who care for them? Does he feel that the guidance from the national institute is good enough to help doctors to identify patients with those conditions?

§ Lord Warner
My Lords, that guidance was the result of a great deal of discussion and consultation with a wide range of interests. It recommends the best practice that is available in this country.

§ Baroness Masham of Ilton
My Lords, do those patients come under mental health as a specialty?

§ Lord Warner
My Lords, the issue of eating disorders was covered in the National Service Framework for Mental Health. The National Director for Mental Health, Professor Louis Appleby, is conducting a review of the provision of all specialised mental healthcare to provide advice to the commissioner. That review will cover eating disorders as well.