Wigan and Bolton Young People’s Eating Disorder Service (CEDS)

An eating disorder is a mental health condition where people use the control of food to cope with feelings and other situations. Unhealthy eating behaviours may include eating too much or too little or worrying about weight or body shape. Anyone can get an eating disorder but with treatment, most people can recover.

We accept the following diagnostic criteria:

• Anorexia nervosa (AN) – when an individual tries to keep their weight as low as possible by not eating enough food, exercising too much, or both.
• Bulimia nervosa (BN) – when an individual sometimes loses control and eats a lot of food in a very short amount of time (bingeing) and are then deliberately sick, use laxatives, restrict what they eat, to do too much exercise to stop themselves gaining weight.
• Binge eating disorder (BED) – when an individual regularly loses control of their eating, eat large portions of food all at once until they feel uncomfortably full, and are then often upset or guilty.

The type of support offered will vary depending on the type and severity of the concern. All our direct support options aim for people to meet their own goals. These include:

• Individual Cognitive Behavioural Therapy-E (CBT-E)
• Family Therapy
• Guided self-help
• Psychiatric biopsychosocial assessments, mental state reviews and medication options
• Paediatric physical health assessments, reviews and investigations
• Dietetic Advice and Support
• Duty and crisis support
• Physical health monitoring
• Outreach support

Following the assessment, a care plan is agreed regarding how best to help. All care plans are individual based upon the needs of the young person. If treatment is suggested, this treatment will be evidence based (following NICE - National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines). Treatments may also involve the people around the children and young people such as carers, schools, and other professionals. 

As we provide specific treatment, we are unable to accept:

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) - when someone avoids certain foods, limits how much they eat or does both. Beliefs about weight or body shape are not reasons why people develop ARFID. Possible reasons for ARFID include negative feelings over the smell, taste or texture of certain foods; a response to a past experience with food that was upsetting, for example, choking or being sick after eating something; not feeling hungry or just a lack of interest in eating.

If the referral is for a presentation of ARFID
Please consider referring the patient to the community paediatrics service. Further information on ARFID, including online support groups, can be found at www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk

If the referral is for behavioural or emotional health and wellbeing support.
Please consider if it would be more appropriate to refer the young person to their local CAMHS service.

Further information on supporting a young person with these presenting difficulties can also be found at www.kooth.co.uk

1. If you wish to discuss the suitability of a referral, please contact us on 01942 764428 before you submit a referral. We offer a duty triage service 9am to 5pm Monday-Friday.
2. Referrals cannot be accepted without mandatory information being provided where indicated by a *. If this information is not provided, we will not accept the referral and will return it to you for completion.
3. We aim to offer assessments for routine referrals within 28 days and for urgent referrals within 1 week. Urgency is determined by the triage practitioner on the basis of national guidance.
4. We are commissioned to assess and treat the following mental health disorders: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder. We are not able to offer treatment for ARFID, and other eating related issues such as weight management, fussy or selective eating or weight restoration following illness.
5. We only offer treatment to patients with a G.P. within the Wigan and Bolton boroughs.
6. We will consider a self-referral. Please call the service on 01942 764428 to discuss .

Fill in the referral form here.