Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

It's encouraging to hear the multiparty discussion of this issue of eating disorders today, and I'm glad to hear the government acknowledge that more needs to be done. Navigating the health system to access treatment for an eating disorder is too difficult, too expensive, too slow and ultimately not good enough.

In WA there are many young people and not so young people trying desperately to get help with eating disorders. In Perth we have one public hospital—the Perth Children's Hospital—that can treat, as inpatients, people 16 years of age or younger who present with an eating disorder. If you're older than that and suffering from an eating disorder, you must go to the emergency department at your local hospital and hope for the best. We have no eating disorder wards or inpatient units in adult public hospitals. There are no specialised care units in rural or remote parts of Western Australia.

The WA Department of Health recorded a 75 per cent increase in patients seeking help for an eating disorder through the public health system in the last few years, but, if you've built up the courage to finally seek help, there are just not many options. The director of the one private outpatient clinic in Perth told me she had waitlists of more than six months to see a specialist. This was the same for all services in Perth. In fact, there's at least a 6-month waitlist in Perth for any psychological services for children. I know many people in my electorate who are currently on waitlists for a range of issues, including ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, depression and anxiety, and eating disorders.

This is particularly concerning when we know that anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. People die while on waitlists. For people who are suffering the self-hate associated with eating disorders, the rejection of a waitlist is deeply harmful. I spoke recently with a mother whose daughter is suffering from an eating disorder. She said:

Over the years, our daughter's treatment has included psychiatrists, psychologists and nutritionists. Despite a supportive GP and top-cover private health insurance, we've struggled to find adequate care for her in Perth. We've experienced the merry-go-round of her presenting at emergency departments and then being discharged without the necessary care or plan going forward, only for her to arrive back at emergency. Trying to access psychiatric treatment often involves incredibly long wait times … I once called 20 psychiatrists to try and find one who would see my daughter—the shortest waiting period was 6 months.

We've been navigating my daughter's illness for many years. There are no words to describe the toll it has taken on our family.

The WA government is currently seeking to improve outpatient services for adolescents, but this doesn't extend to day programs or services for over-18s. There's still much work to be done to stop people falling through the cracks.

There remains a lack of understanding about eating disorders outside of the few specialist centres, and there are not enough specialist centres for patients. Binge eating is the most common eating disorder, but it often doesn't get recognised or treated. If you don't appear to be starving, you're unlikely to be treated at a hospital. Overworked nurses struggle to understand the complexities of eating disorders. I've heard terrible stories of undertrained nurses put on duty to supervise eating disorder patients and then asking the patients for diet tips. I've also heard stories of eating disorder patients being misdiagnosed with borderline personality disorder and subsequently not being readmitted when they seek help.

So much of the pressure lands on community GPs, who, as we know, are already underresourced, overcommitted and stretched. Hospitals treat eating disorders as physical illness, but they are mental illnesses. Many people suffering an eating disorder have experienced trauma. A siloed approach between hospitals, outpatient services, day programs and GPs means these patients are falling through the cracks.

I call on the Albanese government to work collaboratively with states to identify how to address this health crisis. Specialists on the ground in WA are calling for more training and more upskilling for medical and health practitioners who are already in the system. Some federal resources have been promised for a residential service at the Peel Health Campus, but its current status is unclear. While, if it happens, it will be welcomed, it will not meet the increased need in our community. The federal government has the opportunity to take a leading role in directing resources towards best-practice, multidisciplinary services when treating eating disorders and to allocate funding to community mental health services. (Time expired)

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