Diagnosed with anorexia two years ago, Amanda is one of the forgotten victims of eating disorders – ABC News

Posted November 07, 2019 12:15:23

Almost two decades after she first sought help for an eating disorder, single mother Amanda Baldi says she feels no closer to recovery.

Ms Baldi lives in Mandurah, 70 kilometres south of Perth, and has been left feeling hopeless and frustrated by the lack of services for adults with eating disorders in Western Australia particularly those who live regionally.

WARNING: This article contains information about eating disorders which may affect vulnerable readers.

The number of eating disorder hospital admissions in Western Australia increased 165 per cent between 2010 and 2018.

There are very few specialist services in WA for people with an eating disorder aged over 16 and none outside of Perth.

The only publicly available outpatient service, the Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI), has a wait list several months long.

Ms Baldi said she was desperate to get better so that she could be the mother she wanted to be for her 10-year-old son, Nate.

"He can't quite grasp the concept of why mum can't eat or is funny around food," the 31-year-old said.

"It is a lot more complex than that but trying to explain that to a child is not an easy thing.

"Nate is a very active young kid who wants to run around and be boisterous and kick balls, and a lot of the time I don't have the energy to offer him."

While the lack of services for teenage eating disorder sufferers aged between 16 and 18 has been the focus of recent attention, Ms Baldi said older adults often felt forgotten.

"Eating disorders don't discriminate," she said.

"I have been in hospital with 16-year-old girls and with 60-year-old women that have lived with the illness all of their life.

"Anorexia and eating disorders in general have a stigma that it is just a silly little teenage girl issue that they will grow out of.

"I want people to know that it is not something you just grow out of. It is an illness that lives within someone's mind and it is serious."

Ms Baldi said her eating disorder began as bulimia at age 12.

After years of trying unsuccessfully to get help, she was diagnosed with anorexia two years ago when she had reached a state so acute, she had to be admitted to hospital.

"After all those years I felt like my voice was finally being heard," she said.

"But I felt that I needed to be your stereotypical anorexic before anybody would take me seriously."

Ms Baldi took out private health insurance so she could be admitted into the inpatient service at Perth's privately-run Hollywood Hospital.

Hollywood is WA's only specialised eating disorder inpatient service for people aged over 16 and an admission costs about $1,000 per night unless you have private health cover.

After a two-month stay as an inpatient, Ms Baldi regained weight and was feeling motivated to continue her mental recovery.

She was commuting for weekly appointments at Perth's Swan Centre, which is a privately-run specialist service providing psychological and dietetic support.

But eventually she could not afford the cost of ongoing appointments and was unable to continue travelling to and from Perth.

Back in Mandurah, where there are no specialised eating disorder services, Ms Baldi has started to feel as if she is back at square one.

She is about $3,000 in debt for medical bills associated with her hospital stay that were not covered by her insurance, which she no longer has because she could not afford it.

"I have really fallen back into what I would call a relapse and have lost a dramatic amount of the weight I had gained in my hospital admissions," she said.

"I am not doing well, and I think it is only a matter of time before I end up back where I started."

Clinical psychologist Susan Byrne said without outpatient support, the chances of a relapse were high.

"In most cases people are hospitalised just for re-feeding," Dr Byrne said.

"It is very important that they get continued care. The relapse rate is very high if that is not available."

Ahead of the federal election, Health Minister Greg Hunt pledged $4 million to establish a residential eating disorder treatment centre at the Peel Health Campus in Mandurah.

The commitment was made alongside Canning MP Andrew Hastie, who successfully defended the seat.

Mr Hunt recently reaffirmed the commitment to fund the centre in Mandurah, but did not provide a timeline for when it would happen or details of how the service would work.

"The Government is working closely with the Western Australian Government to progress the development of the centre in WA," a spokesman for the Minister said.

"A project agreement between the Department of Health and the WA Department of Health is in negotiation."

The spokesman said the centre's development would be informed by advice from the Butterfly Foundation, the National Mental Health Commission, Primary Health Networks as well as people who have experienced eating disorders.

Currently there is no residential eating disorder treatment centre anywhere in WA.

Asked whether it made sense to build the state's first and only residential eating disorder treatment centre in Mandurah rather than the state's capital city, WA Health Minister Roger Cook said the announcement had surprised him.

"But we understand that the Commonwealth wants to make sure that we have these services available throughout our metropolitan area," he said.

Dr Byrne, the Swan Centre's clinical director, said many clients travelled great distances from regional WA for specialist appointments.

"We see clients from as far away as Esperance, a lot from the South West and a lot from Mandurah," she said.

"We don't have enough multidisciplinary, comprehensive treatment options for people with eating disorders in WA."

Under changes introduced by the Federal Government last week, people living with eating disorders can access up to 40 Medicare-subsidised sessions with a mental health clinician along with another 20 with a dietitian.

Ms Baldi said while it was a positive move, it was of limited use to people who lived in places with no specialist treatment available.

"They can say they have this amazing Medicare [subsidy], which don't get me wrong I appreciate, and I think it's a wonderful thing," she said.

"But do they have the people that are qualified to specifically treat eating disorders? Do they have the services available to provide?"

Ms Baldi said she was hopeful the promised treatment centre would be set up sooner rather than later.

"I'm really hopeful that our voices are being heard and they are going to stick to their word and fund things," she said.

"But time is also critical when it comes to an illness like this.

"Twenty per cent of people with eating disorders, if left untreated, will die.

"It is not a game, it is people's lives, and it is families being affected too, and children."

Mr Cook said a new model of care for treating eating disorders in WA had been developed and was "in the implementation phase".

"We will be announcing funding in relation to that in the forthcoming budget," the Minister said.

"But also making sure that there are resources where necessary available prior to that."

Topics:eating-disorders,diseases-and-disorders,health,government-and-politics,states-and-territories,perth-6000,mandurah-6210,wa

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Diagnosed with anorexia two years ago, Amanda is one of the forgotten victims of eating disorders - ABC News