More than 17,000 Canberrans might suffer from an eating disorder – but those seeking help might wait almost a year to see a specialist, and there are no inpatient facilities in the ACT.

Kate Steen, a lawyer recently diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, has started an e-petition, backed by Labor MLA Dr Marisa Paterson, calling on the ACT Government to act.

“I’m frustrated and disappointed that the petition I have launched is needed at all,” Mrs Steen said.

“It’s heartbreaking to think that there are other people out there who have gotten to a point where they have asked for help – and have been told that that help will be so far away.”

People with eating disorders are six times more likely to die prematurely than the wider population, and people with anorexia nervosa have the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric conditions, Mrs Steen’s petition states.

And according to eating disorder activist Molly Saunders, the ACT is seeing an increase in eating disorders for both men and women.

“I am living proof people can recover from eating disorders,” Ms Saunders said, “but they need to have intensive treatment, which is hard to access in Canberra at the moment.”

Through her petition, Mrs Steen wants the government to update the Legislative Assembly about the progress of their Eating Disorders Position Statement (2018) and what services they intend to deliver, including a promised residential facility.

Three years ago, the ACT Government promised to “improve eating disorder services in the ACT across the full spectrum of care”, and to keep people out of hospital through early and community-based intervention. That statement was the result of another petition, by Molly Saunders, sponsored by Michael Pettersson MLA.

In 2019, Liberal Senator for the ACT Zed Seselja announced $13.5 million for a residential eating disorder centre, the ACT’s first residential inpatient facility; funds will be spent this financial year.

In March, Emma Davidson MLA, Minister for Mental Health, said work was underway to finalise the model of care, which would influence structural requirements; once they were finalised, the ACT Government would be in a position to determine the schedule for the design, construction, and operational date.

“It’s wonderful that the government is engaging in so much necessary consultation, including with the families of consumers, and ensuring that the model of care is right,” Mrs Steen said. “However, I have heard from consumers and their families that they would see great value in more prompt action.”

At the moment, people with eating disorders who need in-patient care will be weight-stabilised at Calvary Hospital or Canberra Hospital, and medically stabilised in the general psychiatric ward. “It’s not ideal,” Mrs Steen said.

In a residential facility, Molly Saunders explained, a dietitian and psychologist will design a program; someone will sit with the patient to make sure they eat, and monitor them before and after the meal to make sure they don’t engage in compulsive behaviour or obsessively exercise (dangerous for anorexia patients).

“In psych wards, while staff care a lot and they’re really good, they don’t have the expertise to deliver a specialist service,” Ms Saunders said.

But if Canberrans want specialist in-patient treatment, they must go interstate, to Sydney or Melbourne, Ms Saunders said.

In 2014, she spent the better half of a year in a Sydney in-patient centre; a large portion of the other patients were also from Canberra, while a large portion of the Canberrans with eating disorders she has met have also had to travel interstate.

Finally, Mrs Steen wants more funding for staff and specialists at the ACT Government’s Eating Disorders Program, the only specialised out-patient therapy option in the ACT, so that consumers can access it more quickly.

While access to the program is appropriately triaged according to need, she said, the wait time is measured in months, not weeks.

“If the wait time is that long, there’s obviously demand for the service, but it doesn’t have the capacity to provide it in a timely way,” Mrs Steen said.

“It takes a tremendous amount [of courage] for someone to reach out for help, and services need to be positioned to provide that help when it’s requested.”

She said her contact with the program has been exceptional – she met a dietitian and a training psychologist for an assessment – but must wait until November to begin treatment.

“That seems a long time to wait, given research shows that the most effective treatment for an eating disorder is immediate or timely treatment,” Mrs Steen said.

Ms Saunders said the program was essential for her recovery, and agrees it needs more funding.

“People need to have access to that specialist treatment without necessarily having to go into hospital,” she said. “A 12-month waiting list is absurd.”

Treating eating disorders early is vital, Ms Saunders believes.

“Eating disorders can mess with your perception of reality,” she said. “It takes a lot of self-reflection to find out that you have a problem … to realise you’ve lost control of behaviours or never had any control to begin with.

“Once you get to the stage of asking help, it’s really important that help is given immediately, because motivation in treatment is really important. And if someone is not offered treatment when they’re motivated, if months go by before they’re offered treatment, they might be deep within the throes of eating disorder and not actually want help at that stage.”

Some Canberrans might have the means to access private psychologists or dietitians, but there was no guarantee they would be able to, Mrs Steen said; there are only a few specialists in the ACT, and many had closed their books.

“There are insane waits around getting in to see private psychologists,” Ms Saunders agreed.

The Eating Disorder Program is training GPs in eating disorders. At the moment, Ms Saunders said, some doctors are not well trained in mental health treatment, or will not provide a mental health plan for a patient to be bulkbilled at a clinic, because their relationship is not ongoing.

“If you agree with the sentiment of the petition, please consider signing it,” Mrs Steen said. “It could take 30 seconds of your time, and it could influence the lives of other people living with eating disorders in the ACT.”

Dr Paterson encouraged people to sign the petition.

“There are many people in our community in a similar situation to Mrs Steen. Across Australia, eating disorders affect approximately four in every 100 people. We need to provide appropriate, dedicated support services.”

Mrs Steen encouraged people concerned about their relationship with food to talk to their family or friends; to visit the Butterfly Foundation, which helps people with eating disorders and body image issues; and to speak to their GP.

“You are not alone,” she said.

The e-petition, Starving for Services – Lack of Eating Disorder Services in the ACT, is online here.

Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.