The MPP for London Fanshawe says Ontario needs to do more to help young people with eating disorders.
New Democrat Teresa Armstrong is introducing a bill to make the first week of February "Eating Disorders Awareness Week." The move comes in the wake of last week's report from Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk, that said some Ontario children with eating disorders had to wait more than three months for treatment in 2015-2016.
"People need to understand that this is a serious issue. Families are suffering and we need to make sure that people, when they are diagnosed, try to seek the help that they have available to them," said Armstrong.
But, according to Armstrong, the help that is available isn't enough. At a news conference in Toronto on Monday morning, she again pointed to the Auditor General's report in suggesting Ontario needs to do more for those with eating disorders.
"We sent 127 patients over to the States in order to get treatment between 2011 and 2015-2016, spending $10-million because patients who were suffering from severe eating disorders couldn't get the help here," said Armstrong.
The MPP was joined at her news conference by Wendy Preskow, the founder and president of the National Initiative for Eating Disorders, and Dr. Blake Woodside, a psychiatrist with Toronto General Hospital Eating Disorder Program.
“Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness,” said Preskow. “In recognition of the gaps in current health care services, delays in treatment, lack of funding, inadequate information and education in all levels of government, and for healthcare professionals, schools, and the public, NIED’s ultimate goal is to implement immediate action and change.”
“Families are not the cause of eating disorders despite popular thought. In fact, families are the most important part of recovery for those suffering,” said Dr. Woodside. “The $10 million the Liberal government spent sending 127 youth to the United States for help could have helped more than 500 Ontarians suffering from eating disorders.”