"Eating Disorder inpatient service for over 16 years old."

There is only one hospital providing inpatient service for patients over 16 years old suffering with Eating Disorders in WA. This hospital is private and waiting list for admission can be for up to two or three weeks.

Public hospital (Medical Wards) should and must follow WAEDOCS guidelines and based on my experience, I believe this is not happening. It seems the patient has to be very unwell to receive support.

The psychiatric team at MHOA understood the critical and medical concern about my child’s life. Medical team basically did not want to take over to start Nasal Gastric feed. It took a week (my child getting nutritionally sicker and sicker) for the medical team at Joondalup to take action and start feeding until a bed was available at another private hospital’s eating Disorder Program.

Why can’t the medical team understand that if a patient is asking for help and is still medical stable and cannot physically eat - help and start feeding with a NGT. I understand that treating Anorexia Nervosa is not easy (I have been living this nightmare for eight years) but I feel it is not fair for the patient asking for help to hear and see both teams discussing, basically in front of us, about if my child is well, not well or not sick enough to have a medical admission.

My child is currently receiving help at another hospital (inpatient). We are lucky we can afford a private medical insurance.

It is frustrating the inpatient services still not available in WA to treat patients over 16 inpatient. Unfortunately the other private hospital could not take the demand and up to 3 weeks is the waiting list to get admission. In the mean time I feel the public system should be giving the service of feeding a patient asking for help.