Eating disorders: NHS reform needed to break silo working and aid vulnerable patients

New data from researchers at Kings College London, published in the British Dental Journal, found that many of the medical conditions that result in the erosion of tooth enamel, can have serious and even possibly fatal consequences if left undiagnosed or untreated.

Eating disorders affect an estimated 725,000 people in the UK, at a cost of around £15 bil per annum. Patients who are reluctant to seek medical help may instead visit a dentist for treatment of conditions such as tooth wear associated with frequent vomiting.

The BDA has called on The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to act on requests to provide clarity on onward referral by dentists when they suspect that a patient might have an eating disorder, and include dentists in multi-disciplinary teams treating in-patients with eating disorders. It has also called on government to offer a decisive break from the widely discredited NHS contract.

Since it was imposed in 2006 the target driven NHS contract has forced practitioners to prioritise targets for curative treatment, with 85 per cent of practitioners reporting it is restricting the time they can spend with patients.