A NEW way to help young people with eating disorders has come to Hampshire, following confirmation of £1.6m of additional funding.

A new Eating Disorder Day Programme, based at Leigh House Hospital in Petersfield Road, Winchester, has opened its doors to offer a nine-week programme to young people, supporting and exclusively focusing on treating eating disorders.

Hampshire Chronicle: The eating disorder support teamThe eating disorder support team (Image: Leigh House)The program is the first of its kind in the county to be run jointly by family therapy and nursing, based on the successful service developed by the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. It is designed to treat young people in a day setting, enabling them to stay at home with their families rather than be admitted as an inpatient.

The service is open to young people aged 13 to 18 who are already known to specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and is commissioned by the NHS Wessex and Dorset CAMHS Provider Collaborative, with funding from NHS England. The programme will be named by the first cohort of young people and their families as part of continued engagement with those who use the service.

READ MORE: NHS trust announces new eating disorder support following £1.6m in funding

Sarah Cole, Eating Disorder Day Programme clinical lead, said: “We are so pleased to be able to offer this level of support to young people with an eating disorder. We have a wide range of specialist support available to the young people and their families ranging from dieticians, nurses, therapists, psychologists, teachers (to enable the young people to continue with their studies during the programme) family therapists, occupational therapists and creative therapy sessions giving them a way to express themselves through drama, story-making, music and art.

“At the end of each day, the young person will be able to go home and spend time with their families. The programme is there not only to support the young person, but also give their family and carers coping skills as part of their ongoing support with their recovery recognising the importance of their role in continued recovery.”

This programme will be delivered six times a year for up to 10 young people at a time supporting an additional 60 young people every year.