Eating disorders: national network minutes – april 2025

Welcome and Introductions

The chair opened the meeting and welcomed attendees.

Update from the Scottish Government

Chloe Duffus (CD) updated the group on recent activity, including work around eating disorder awareness week (EDAW) which included a parliamentary members debate and an update on the NHS inform work, including updating existing content on eating disorders and the development of new content on ARFID. User data so far indicates good interest in this new content and the Scottish Government have recently funded NHS 24 to co-produce lived experience videos for NHS inform, highlighting their experience of getting support and that recovery is possible. CD also explained that the mental health directorate is currently awaiting confirmation of the 2025/26 budget allocation.

Work with NES             

The chair updated the group that work with NES regarding training continues. Work to improve the navigation of the eating disorders content on TURAS is also progressing.

Katherine Morton (KM) updated the group on credentialing training, a one-year postgraduate curriculum rolled out to doctors, which focuses on broadening knowledge about eating disorders.

Newsletter  

The chair advised that the next eating disorders network newsletter will be produced shortly after the network meeting and invited the group to contribute any relevant content by email.        

Audit tool   

KM advised the audit tool will be circulated to mental health leads in upcoming months. This tool will help us capture information on how NHS boards are currently delivering against the standards that are set out in the national specification for care and treatment of eating disorders in Scotland.

Regional Meeting Work                                 

KM updated the group on a working group that has been organised by clinicians in the West of Scotland (WoS) to support regional working.

Webinars    

KM discussed the Innovations in the field of eating disorders webinar on Thursday 15 May, at 11:00 – 12:30, with Professor Ulrike Schmidt. Information about the webinar will be circulated around the group, while other topics will be announced at a later date. Network members were encouraged to share widely with stakeholders.

Feedback on the Network         

he Network broke into three separate groups to discuss feedback from the survey that was circulated to the network prior to the meeting and to discuss the Network activities and how it could be improved in the future. The terms of reference for the network was circulated prior to the meeting.

The common themes discussed within the groups included:

Stakeholder Engagement

Clinicians have been engaging with stakeholders and invited a Network representative to the next Scottish CAMHS meeting in July and to the Child Heads of Psychology (CHOPS) meeting. Consideration was given on how to improve the agenda of the meeting to include a two way dissemination of information. A suggestion was made to include a standing item on the agenda for updates from stakeholders.

Information from the faculty of eating disorders should feed in to the network. They are planning to host a training day later in the summer and CR explained that Katherine Morton is the link as is Louise Johnston.

There was also a discussion around the importance of staying informed about national and regional developments to ensure joined-up working across all areas. There was an agreement that the terms of reference are clear and helpful for new members, giving confidence that discussions are focused on the right issues. There was interest in creating a microsoft teams channel to facilitate easy information sharing, although it was acknowledged that different email domains might pose challenges.

Questions were raised about whether representatives from family therapy and physiotherapy should be included in the Network or involved in wider engagement activities. It was also suggested that member bios could be useful to help assess representation across professional groups and clarify who can contribute specific expertise. NHS Grampian has met with CAMHS to discuss opportunities for service user involvement. There are potential benefits in linking with Beat to explore how third sector organisations can support this work.

Feedback on the Newsletter/Network

The Network Newsletter is being actively shared across various platforms, with SA distributing it through the MCN and other Eating Disorder meetings, and CM sharing it with  CAMHS Team and the Intensive Home Treatment Pathway. KM advised she shared the newsletter around RCPsych Scottish Faculty of Eating Disorders, and NHS Lanarkshire colleagues and RM advised that he did similar.

Participants fed back they appreciated the opportunity to  share good practice, promoting  innovative ideas, while successfully highlighting the balance of good practice and challenges. SM pointed out that it’s difficult for people to engage with lengthy newsletters. This opened a discussion around what is most useful way for people to engage and to ensure we have the right people to share the information with.

It was suggested it would be helpful for the Network to share how eating disorder services in Scotland are meeting the needs of patients with ARFID in their local settings, with a view to supporting all areas to develop pathways.

There was general consensus that the newsletter is a valuable central tool for communication across the network. However, some members raised concerns about newsletters getting lost in email inboxes and suggested exploring options to make them accessible online, such as hosting them on the scottish government network page. There was discussion around using Microsoft Sway to issue the newsletter in order to track engagement, and an openness to exploring additional distribution methods, such as via the Beat website.

There was also interest in including profession-specific sections within the newsletter to increase relevance and engagement.

Training

Members highlighted the value of advisers attending board- or region-specific groups e.g. dietitian forum, as this enabled two-way feedback between advisers and local teams. Additionally, the development of a training platform on TURAS was welcomed, with particular enthusiasm for making it accessible to all professionals and clearly outlining training requirements for each professional group.

Lived Experience

EM explained that her role is unclear in relation to being contacted by patients and families with lived experience of eating disorders, CR offered to continue this discussion out with the meeting to identify ways to improve communication and support participation.

Suggestion from the North of Scotland that it would be helpful to have lived experienced input into the regional IHT pathway for eating disorders.

Action

Chair to discuss survey question responses at future network meetings.

Action

Two way feedback from the network and stakeholders, e.g. network members contact the network chair four weeks prior to network meetings to discuss/ add agenda items coming from their stakeholders. Members to invite chair and advisors to stakeholder meetings.

Action

SG to include space in the network agenda to discuss ways of disseminating information.

Action

Chair to meet EM to discuss ways to improve communication and support participation within her role.

Action

All to consider contributions for the next eating disorders network nwsletter

CAMHS Regional work Eating Disorder Pathway 

Hazel Cain (HC) shared an overview of the North of Scotland Regional CAMHS Intensive home treatment services, funded by the Scottish Government, whereby children and young people are being provided with care and treatment for serious and complex needs in their home and local communities, to help reduce unnecessary admissions to hospital. SS gave an overview on the eating disorders pathway which included a monthly meeting with representation from health boards in that region to discuss transition to adults and stages of patient care and outcomes.

Action

Scottish Government and BEAT to pick up conversation around lived experience panel.

Men and Eating Disorders        

Rachel Hughes (RH) and Niamh Allen (NA) and Mark Somerville (MS) from CAPS advocacy in Lothian gave an overview of the experience-led research they conducted regarding men’s experiences with eating disorders. Key themes include mistrust and the falling short of services, expectations of masculinity, eating disorders as a coping mechanism, peer support.

Action

CAPS advocacy to share final research report with the network and provide lines for the eating disorder newsletter.

AOB and dates for future meetings

The chair advised the Scottish Government will circulate future national eating disorders network meeting dates with the meeting minutes.

Attendees and apologies

Cathy Richards, Chair of the Network

Katherine Morton, Clinical Advisor, Scottish Government

Julie Coppola, Charge Nurse, Community Eating Disorder Service, Irvine

Stephen Anderson, Consultant Psychiatrist, Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GG&C)

Rachael Smith, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, NHS Grampian and Professional Lead, Chair of CAMHS ED Network & Chair of Child Heads of Psychology

Ruairidh Mckay, Psychiatrist, REDU NHS Lothian, co-chair of the adult IPU Network

Sam Aitcheson, Consultant Clinical Psychologist NHS Grampian, Chair of the Leads for Adult Psychology ED network,

Lesley Pillans, Associate Specialist Eden Unit – Psychiatry Grampian, North of Scotland MCN & EEATS

Carol Morgan, Dudhope CAMHS inpatient unit carer’s support worker

Alex Jones, Policy Officer, BEAT

Fiona Calder, Head of Programme for CAMHS NES, and Consultant Clinical Psychologist GG&C

Ellen Maloney, Lived Experience Peer Researcher

Hazel Cain, Advanced Clinical Nurse Specialist, NoS CAMHS

Siobhan Stewart, NoS CAMHS Eating Disorders Pathway Lead

Diane Kane, NHS Lanarkshire, Chair OT Eating Disorders Network

Susan McDonald, Dietitian Adult Eating Disorder Service GGC

Mark Somerville, CAPS Independent Advocacy

Rachel Hughes, CAPS Independent Advocacy

Niamh Allen, CAPS Independent Advocacy

Chloe Duffus, Team Leader, Scottish Government

Leon Young, Policy Officer, Scottish Government

Eirini Iro Arvanitidou, Policy Officer,  Scottish Government

Hannah Deane, Policy Officer, Scottish Government

Apologies

Susan Hynes, CAMHS Programme Director NoS, Senior CAMHS Nurse

Louise Johnston, Psychiatrist NHS Grampian, co-chair of the adult IPU network

Fiona Duffy, Clinical Advisor, Scottish Government

Hazel Elliot, NHS Scottish Dietetic Eating Disorders Clinical Forum