"Group feedback from St Georges, Eating Disorders Day Service, SHSC NHS FT"

Group feedback from St Georges, Eating Disorders Day Service, SHSC NHS FT

We were invited to join a group of service users attending the Eating Disorders Service for some group feedback. It was a great experience and we are grateful for everyone’s honesty and fantastic contributions. We had some great discussions about different group activities the service offers and the experience of being a patient at St Georges.  Below are the comments that we all agreed could go onto the Care Opinion Website.

Ailis Manzoni and Agnes Wozna, Engagement & Experience Facilitators, SHSC NHS FT

We started the session with the group members listing all different activities they attend during a week-. These were a creative group, CBT, cooking and meal planning, nutrition, body image, motivation, relationships, problem solving, relaxation, meals out, snack out, review group and key work.

We focused on two aspects of feedback- what could be improved and what has been helpful.

Everyone in the group agreed that the sessions and activities they attend are all beneficial. We chose to focus on two in particular. These were- Problem Solving and Body Image.

The group shared that the problem solving session sometimes does not follow through from an idea to action on a weekly basis. It would be good to have more time to think about what you would like to discuss. However it has been helpful to find solutions and have them reviewed the following week.

There was a consensus that the Body Image (BI) session needed to cover more on how ‘we’ view our own bodies rather than how others do. The group wanted there to be more emphasis on the acceptance of BI and learning more coping strategies to sustain a healthy approach. Again some members would prefer to have their set goals reinforced and followed through a bit more. The group agreed that the acceptance of the weight gain itself needed more support and coping strategies. Overall the group felt that although sometimes off- topic the BI sessions are useful and wisely scheduled on Wednesdays which means it is never one of the first sessions to attend.

One of the most discussed suggestions for improvement was a Tuesday morning weigh-in session. The participants understood this difficult session had to be done but talked about it being a bit abrupt and overwhelming on ’ a first day’ back. Especially that it is immediately followed by a weekend review session which usually brings on its own challenges (like weekends can be challenging, most people feel on their own etc).  The group suggested that it would feel more validating and safer if there was a quick chat about how it felt, their weight gain or loss and the feelings behind it. They said they would appreciate some de-brief and reassurance that could be offered by a staff member as peer support can be difficult at the time.

We briefly discussed a cooking group and it was mentioned that sometimes there might be too many people in a room, which means not everyone can cook at the same time. This has already been addressed by staff members and people who are not cooking will be enjoying art activities like origami.

Snack/ Meal out sessions were described as important and useful. Some group members said it is a ‘reminder’ that the real world is still out there and it can help to break out of ‘a bubble’. The participants appreciated benefits of getting some fresh air as well as re-introducing a positive social aspect of eating out and together. Some also noted that a ‘meal deal’ option can be quite universal as it fits with most of people’s lifestyles outside of the group. Participants also talked about appreciating when staff challenge group members when they have the same thing to eat every time. We also reflected on how good it would be to be challenged about ‘safe-option’ drinks as well as food. Someone suggested it would be nice to have a session where everyone would make hot chocolates together. Group members also said it was good to have an element of surprise and going to different places/ cafes.

The participants of our session also felt that staff were very helpful and always listening. Each session has two members of staff which was felt to have many benefits like if you’re struggling one member of staff can support you on one-to-one basis. It is validating when staff notice when you’re not feeling well. Most members felt like they can approach staff at any time and said they felt in general less alone. Staff creativity and efforts to make meals fun was widely appreciated by everyone in the room.

We finished the session with a ‘million bucks questions’- If you could change/improve one thing what would it be? These answers were written down individually and on post-it notes.

- Please provide more information about rules when people first join,

- Help with meal planning at home,

- More focus on post-recovery,

- Establish good ground rules of the service before joining the group- make sure you know what the rules are (i.e. rules about toilet breaks, clean plates, snacks etc.)

- Be more vigilant about people’s dislikes- are they actually dislikes?

- Greater structured support directly after weigh-in (a bit of time to de-brief),

- More acceptance about gaining weight/ accepting the weight you’ve gained.