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My daughter's eating disorder

Posted By Amelie

"My daughter's eating disorder "

About: Coventry And Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust / Eating disorders

(as a relative),

My family and I have recently returned from overseas where my 16 year old daughter was being treated for an eating disorder at a paediatric hospital and being seen weekly or bi-weekly. 3 weeks before we reurned she unfortunately had to have her appendix out which was followed by a week extra in hospital to get her 'nutrionally balanced'.

Unfortunately in England she is classed as an adult and yet despite knowing her history and of her recent surgery and subsequent stay in hospital the medical services here classed her as non-urgent as we have had to wait 3 months for a referral to a clinic that she has to attend on her own. She is terrified, has recently come off her medication as she didn't like the way it made her feel and has started to skip meals again.

We were actually beginning to see signs of progress but this wait has set us back and the worry of care that she may or may not receive is compounding this. How can a case be determined as non urgent without ever having met the patient?

We have endured the worst a parent or family can endure during the past 2 years and we feel let down.

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Responses

Response from Julia Williams, Assistant Director - Experience & Quality, Coventry & Warwickshire Partnership Trust 12 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Julia Williams
Assistant Director - Experience & Quality,
Coventry & Warwickshire Partnership Trust

Submitted on 01/12/2011 at 18:35
Published on Care Opinion at 20:20

Dear Amelie

I am sorry to hear that you feel unhappy with the medical services that your daughter has received and your experiences of the healthcare system.

We are keen to respond to the concerns that you have raised and in order to do this, I would be grateful if you would please contact the Customer Service Department on 02476 536800.

We always appreciate feedback, as this helps us look at where improvements can be made to the services we deliver.

With regards

Julia

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Response from Julia Williams, Assistant Director - Experience & Quality, Coventry & Warwickshire Partnership Trust 12 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Julia Williams
Assistant Director - Experience & Quality,
Coventry & Warwickshire Partnership Trust

Submitted on 12/12/2011 at 18:31
Published on Care Opinion on 13/12/2011 at 15:10

Dear Amelie,

I am sorry you feel dissatisfied with the length of time your daughter has waited for an appointment and her experience when attending the clinic.

Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust provides a specialist eating disorders service to persons aged 16 and over. There are a range of services provided to meet the needs of the population. The individual services invest a significant amount of time in managing the referrals and assessment of patients in order to deal with them in the most appropriate way. There are variances across our county in the way this service is offered due to the legacy left by the development of these services from the predecessor organisations. This does mean there is some variation at present in how care is offered depending on your location in the county.

The eating disorders team offer a range of interventions which may include group work. This requires an individual to participate with a wider group and may have an impact on what support an individual can have while in these sessions. We do take our work in this area very seriously we are always working hard for the wellbeing of the people that we serve. This demands that we must always look to develop and improve the service on offer. For example we are currently expanding the inpatient eating disorders unit and its clinical team in Warwick.

Without details of your daughter’s case, the location and service you have been linked into I cannot comment further on how your daughter’s case was managed. I want to stress that if you and your daughter are unhappy at the way you are being supported or the care on offer, you can discuss this with the lead clinician involved in her care.

You can also contact our

Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 02476 536804 or email pals@covwarkpt.nhs.uk

and discuss your case with them, so we can look in more detail at the specific issues you have.

We can only develop our services with feedback from those that use them and would encourage you make your views known to us, so we can listen and improve the services we deliver.

With regards

Julia

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Update posted by Amelie (a relative)

Dear Julia

Thank you for your responses. My daughter has now had her long awaited first consultation. I was not offered any feedback and was advised that I would be invited along to the next appointment - with my daughter's permission. Not the collaborative approach we experienced overseas.

I was not introduced to her doctor and there was a general air of mystery as the premises are a building site, and builders speaking in hushed tones around patient consultation rooms did not fill us with confidence. My daughter did however report that the doctor seemed Ok despite weighing her and allowing to see her weight which is always a slightly contentious issue.

We await further instruction on any treatment plan once test results are through. My daughter did not feel the need to eat this evening.

Regards Amelie

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