Scotland's first in-patient treatment facility for patients who are suffering from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa opened May 25 in Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen. In a May 26 post on the website The Med Guru, writer Neharika Sabharwal described what the new unit will mean to Scots who are suffering from anorexia:

Generally, patients with eating disorders are kept with patients suffering from mental illness. But Scotlands first dedicated unit would make available a course of treatment radically different from that supplied in psychiatric units. Health specialists and psychologists will try to get to the root of the eating problems.

Previously, all serious cases of eating disorders were referred to private clinic such as Huntercombe Edinburgh Hospital in Uphall, West Lothian and the Priory in Glasgow. But now people from all over the country can avail the same amenities for the first time at an [National Health System] unit.

The unit shall basically cater to the patients within the age group of 18 to 65 years, but in some rare instances under-18s will be considered for treatment.

Experts estimate that about 83,000 Scots have some type of eating disorder, Sabharwal reported, though most of those cases go undiagnosed and thus untreated.

In the United States, individuals with eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorders have a variety of treatment options, including entering a private residential eating disorder treatment program such as The Victorian of Newport Beach.

Labels: treatment, eating disorders

Posted By: Aspen/CRC