Oldham eating disorders service wins award for excellence

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A local NHS team that supports young people with an eating disorder has won an award for providing excellent care.

The community eating disorders service, part of Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, is one of only nine winners of the trust’s CARES Awards. 

The Trust provides hundreds of services across 234 sites. 

The annual awards aim to recognise teams that demonstrate excellence and this year was the most competitive to date.

The service is for young people who have an eating disorder, such as anorexia or bulimia. 

They provide specialist care and support in the community to help young people avoid having to be admitted to hospital, or to be safely discharged more quickly.

A package of care is developed to meet the individual needs of each young person. 

The types of support available include one-to-one or group therapy, support for families, workshops and even meal time support in people’s own homes.

The service is provided across six boroughs of Greater Manchester, including Oldham.

Hannah has described her emotional journey and how the team has helped her.

She said: “I have anorexia and it took everything I was away from me. 

"I lost my personality and it changed me.

“My eating disorder started mentally in 2015 and in 2016 the physical symptoms started. I was bullied in high school; I was called names and told I was fat.

"So I stopped going to school and stopped eating until I felt good enough in me, for them.

“I feel I’ve achieved many of my goals.

"I got discharged from hospital, I have a job and I’ve started college again.

"I’ve got a life and friends and I’m quite happy.”

Jade, aged 19, added: “I have anorexia and it almost took my life away from me. I was admitted to hospital in February 2016.

"When I was discharged in February 2017 I was referred to the community eating disorders service straight away. 

“The team is specifically trained to support eating disorders.

"I find it easy to talk to them because they can understand you completely.

"They can also help to prevent a re-lapse, by providing continual support every single week for you.”

Vicky Brown, clinical lead for the north community eating disorders team, said:  “The team works so hard to make a real difference to the life of every single young person we see. 

“Recovering from an eating disorder is not an easy path and we are often humbled by the strength shown by young people.

"We are here to support them every step of the way. 

“It’s hard to describe the feeling of pride we feel when our young people are doing well and achieving positive things in their life. 

"We are so proud to have won this award and would like to dedicate to the young people we care for.”

Hannah and Jade have shared their stories in a short film (see below), which focuses on the great work being done by the team. 

To find out more about the community eating disorders service, people can visit: www.healthyyoungmindspennine.nhs.uk/eatingdisorders/

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