About this event
This Eating Disorders Awareness Week Beat is campaigning for all UK medical schools and foundation programmes to introduce proper training on eating disorders. Your voice and support will help them to make this happen.
Eating disorders are devastating mental illnesses that affect 1 in 50 people in the UK. Recovery is possible. But we rely on our GPs to spot early warning signs that may have nothing to do with a person’s weight or appearance. Their role is crucial. Their responsibility is huge, but how much training does the average GP receive on eating disorders? Less than 2 hours!
Less than two hours in their entire medical degree. And a fifth of UK medical schools don’t provide any training on eating disorders at all. This isn’t good enough. It’s delayed access to treatment and led to misdiagnosis of eating disorders for years, and the consequences for people living with these mental illnesses and their families can be devastating and sometimes deadly.
This has to change, and the time is now.
Our GPs want to provide the best quality care for people with eating disorders, but they need proper training to match the seriousness of these conditions which many of them haven’t had through no fault of their own. This training exists. Beat has developed clear and comprehensive courses for medical students, which some schools have started to teach. But ‘some’ is not enough.
We need all medical schools to offer proper training on eating disorders, and your support can make this happen. It’s time to change lives.
Watch Beat’s 2022 campaign video here
