WARNING: This article contains details of an eating disorder
When Sally Chaster in Victoria experienced a relapse with anorexia nervosa in April 2021, she knew she wouldn’t get through it alone.
I was losing a lot of weight and was very weak.
“During that time, I was in the worst relapse of my life,” said Chaster, who was a public service executive before going on long-term disability from anorexia.
Sally Chaster has struggled with anorexia nervosa for decades and waited eight months last year to access hospital services in Vancouver. (Submitted by Sally Chaster)
She participated in a nutrition group and worked with a case manager monthly while waiting to be admitted to St. Paul’s of Vancouver.
He was admitted in December and spent six weeks in the hospital.
“I waited eight months and seriously thought I was going to die,” she said.
“It’s a long time to wait, especially when you’re getting sicker and sicker.”
Wait times for eating disorder treatment in Canada have grown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Psychologists, pediatricians, counselors and others across the country said they’ve seen a jump in referrals throughout the pandemic for eating disorders. In many areas, this increase has resulted in longer waiting times for publicly funded treatment.
In some provinces, wait times for community and outpatient programs can be anywhere from six months to 18 months or more.
Experts say early treatment is important so eating disorder behaviors don’t take root.
“When you look at eating disorders and the behaviors associated with that, they can intensify and get worse. And certainly the pandemic has contributed to that. So it’s very concerning when we look at these wait times,” said Julia Klassen, a counselor at eating disorders the Provincial Eating Disorder Prevention and Recovery Program (PEDPRP) in Winnipeg.
Access to these services is not uniform throughout the country; the territories and some Atlantic provinces do not have publicly funded inpatient or residential services for eating disorders.
“Access to publicly funded health care specializing in eating disorders in Canada is very limited,” said Aryel Maharaj, Outreach and Education Coordinator at the National Eating Disorders Information Center (NEDIC). based in Toronto.
What changed during the pandemic?
Wait times vary across the country and vary by treatment options, such as inpatient care or outpatient services
Dr. Kathryn Trottier, a clinical psychologist and clinical program manager for the Eating Disorders Program with the University Health Network in Toronto, said the average wait time for inpatient beds is about two to three months.
But the wait for its outpatient program is now 18 months, “whereas before the pandemic, access to this treatment was quite timely,” he said.
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The waiting list for the community PEDPRP in Winnipeg has also grown.
“Typically, we used to be looking at a six- to 12-month wait to get into our program, whereas now we’re looking at 18 months or more,” Klassen said.
In Nova Scotia, referrals and wait times have doubled, according to a statement from Nova Scotia officials. Wait times for the province’s three inpatient beds average one to two months and four to six months for access to the eating disorder clinic at the QEII Health Sciences Center in Halifax.
Dr. Ayisha Kurji, one of the few pediatricians in Saskatchewan who treats youth with eating disorders, said the number of referrals to her clinic has at least doubled in the past two years.
Dr. Ayisha Kurji, a Saskatoon pediatrician and assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan, says the number of people with eating disorders she sees increases during the pandemic. (Submitted by Ayisha Kurji)
He said part of the reason demand for treatment for eating disorders has increased is because many had their routines disrupted by the pandemic.
“Now instead of having to get up and go to school and have breakfast, you have a set lunch time … that went away. And that was a big difference for a lot of kids,” he said. Kurji said, adding more time during the pandemic to check. Social media has also been a trigger for many of his patients.
Data released this year by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) show that hospitalizations for girls aged 10 to 17 with eating disorders have increased by more than 50% since March 2020. The data shows that there there was an increase of about 52 hospitalizations per 100,000 people. in 2019-2020 to 82 hospitalizations per 100,000 people in 2020-2021.
The surge in demand continues at a time when many hospitals across the country are dealing with staff shortages, demand from emergency departments and another wave of COVID-19.
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Patients are feeling the impact of the growing strain on Canada’s health care system as staff shortages force some hospitals and emergency departments to close their doors. Experts warn it’s a problem that could get even worse with another wave of COVID-19.
Dr. Lara Ostolosky, a psychiatrist and medical director of the eating disorders program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, said she recently had to wait to admit a new patient because of a nursing shortage.
“If we don’t have adequate staffing, we can’t safely admit,” he said.
While private options are available in many provinces and territories, that’s not an option for everyone looking for help, Maharaj said.
Health professionals emphasized that it is important to help people with eating disorders as soon as they seek help for a number of reasons.
“We really want to catch people when they’re approaching, when they’re probably most motivated and ready to get attention,” Trottier said.
Data released this year by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) show that hospitalizations for girls aged 10 to 17 with eating disorders have increased by more than 50 percent since March 2020 (Posted by Michelle Perry )
Ostolosky added that the best treatment is in the first year or two of a person’s illness because the brain’s neuroplasticity is “still there,” meaning the brain can still be rewired to function differently, and for patients younger, the neural pathways that affect feeding. are still being developed.
“We’re redeveloping them in the right direction through refeeding and that sort of thing. But the more it becomes, the more entrenched it becomes and the harder it is to get out, which will require longer hospitalizations later on. And so people wait 18 months , well, that’s a long time to be sick, deteriorating,” he said.
Access varies
Access to publicly funded treatment for eating disorders varies across Canada, and services differ depending on whether a person is an adult or a minor.
According to data collected by NEDIC in 2019, there were about 250 inpatient, day and residential sites in Canada, not including outpatient services.
According to NEDIC data, Nunavut, New Brunswick, PEI, Northwest Territories and Yukon have no publicly funded inpatient, day or residential options.
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It’s a worrying trend and it’s affecting the lives of children and teenagers across the country, including the North East. Throughout the pandemic, more and more children are being treated for eating disorders, causing overall wait times for treatment to triple. Health Sciences North’s regional eating disorders program reports that referrals to the program for under-18s have seen a 94% increase since 2018. To learn more, Sam Juric spoke with HSN’s Anne-Marie Baker Devost .
“When I think about the pillars of the Canada Health Act, I think I can say clearly that we don’t have equitable services for people with eating disorders, and we don’t have equitable mental health care coverage in Canada since ‘a universal perspective. level,” Maharaj said.
what is needed
In addition to increased funding to provide more services, many who work with people with eating disorders who spoke to CBC said access to care needs to be improved.
Marlo Docherty, who lives in PEI, had to travel out of province to Ontario to get help for an eating disorder. (Submitted by Marlo Docherty)
Marlo Docherty, who lives in PEI, has suffered from an eating disorder for over 30 years.
He has been out of province to Ontario for treatment, most recently from December to February of this year.
While he said the treatment was “exceptional” and funded by the PEI government, it can be difficult to return home without publicly funded medical support.
“It’s frustrating because it’s like you go back to old behaviors,” he said.
“It’s something we really should change.”
Ostolosky said the quality of treatment approaches in Canada could also be improved.
“What I see happening in eating disorder programs across Canada … is as soon as the person is referred and at a normal weight, they’re sent to a very limited day program,” she said, adding that people should stay in acute care. longer settings so they can be better supported.
A Health Canada spokesperson said in a lengthy statement that eating disorder research and the development of mental health standards are ongoing and that the federal government remains “committed to working with provinces, territories and other partners to promote access to mental health and high-quality substance use.” services for Canadians with diverse needs.”
Maharaj said that Canada…