"Hideous place, little more than a prison"

i was a patient on the EDU from June till November 2016 having been transferred there to be closer to home. Initially i thought the care was fantastic, they are extremely conscientious with new patients and monitor everyone closely so the eating disorder has no chance to get away with anything. this is brilliant when you are a new extremely ill patient. However. You get no privacy as 90% of the rooms are shared occupancy. being a very small ward, you can hear a lot of noise, including when patients are being restrained. bedrooms doors have to always be open (day and night- except if there is a restraint-), the only fresh air easily available is via a small balcony, which is also where the smokers go (i am not a smoker, and having to breathe in ciggie smoke is not good for health). And the cleaners spend barely two minutes cleaning the bedrooms, bed sheets are only changed once a week. Patients are not allowed to do anything food and drink related for themselves unless they have reached a healthy BMI and not allowed home until this BMI either. Therapy does not begin until your BMI is 15, and all groups are subject to BMI. Meal times are ofc very strict, however too strict, you are not allowed to leave the dining room until a specific amount of time is up (mostly 45 minutes) no matter what BMI/STAGE you are at, and never allowed to have anything unsupervised. there are also patients there that have been under the hospitals care for over 4 years!! I found my stay at Cygnet Ealing very damaging and, having only been home 2 weeks, still have nightmares from my stay. Yes the hospital does get your BMI up, however preparation for 'the real world' is extremely limited and the care is hardly individualised. As with many inpatient HCA's- very few of them are properly trained in mental health and/or eating disorders, though there was/is one HCA at Cygnet Ealing who was/is amazing and I already really miss talking to.