Waiting lists for eating disorder care continue to increase: 'A long wait can mean your death'

Waiting times for people with eating disorders continue to increase year after year. In 2024, a patient waited an average of 21 weeks for specialized care. In some regions, people wait much longer for eating disorder care, even up to 37 weeks.

This is evident from figures from Vektis, in the hands of the KRO-NCRV program Pointer . Presenter Jos de Groot followed the story of Lauren, among others, for a new episode, who had to wait ten months for help.

As early as 2021, State Secretary Paul Blokhuis warned of a crisis in eating disorder care. At that time, the average waiting time was 17 weeks. Now, three years later, that has increased to 21 weeks. The waiting lists are the longest in regions such as South-East Brabant, Rotterdam and Waardenland. In South-East Brabant, it even increased to 37 weeks at the end of 2024. The official standard is a maximum of 14 weeks.

According to presenter Jos de Groot, that was the reason for Pointer to re-examine the subject.

"It is unfortunately nothing new that people who need mental health care often have to wait a long time for it. This is particularly distressing when it comes to eating disorders, because we know that anorexia is the most common cause of death of all mental disorders. We wanted to take stock: what is the current situation?"

For the episode, De Groot spoke with Lauren, a young woman recovering from anorexia. She had to wait ten months for follow-up care after her first admission. And that while rapid help is crucial for eating disorders .

"What does it mean to be on a waiting list when you need help now? Lauren was able to explain that to me very well. And even now that she is well on her way to recovery, waiting for a new care pathway can still be difficult. This also shows that the system is working against itself: the smoother the care, the faster people can hopefully recover."

Pediatrician Annemarie van Bellegem of the Emma Children's Hospital also calls the situation unacceptable. According to her, the Dutch healthcare system is set up in such a way that physical complaints are treated more quickly than psychological problems.

"If you need surgery on your leg, you'll be operated on today. But for eating disorders, we've come to consider it normal that you have to wait months for a place at the mental health care. That's something I can't understand and that's unacceptable," Van Bellegem says.

The moment that De Groot remembers most was his visit to Schakel-om, a student house for young people with an eating disorder.

"All the women I spoke to there had experience with long waits for care and they had all suffered from it. And if you have such a serious mental illness, that long wait can mean your death. It really touched me to look people who had experienced that in the eye. But in these women I also saw the strength and the fighting spirit to get out of it, I found that hopeful."

The Ministry of Health acknowledges that the demand for mental health care has increased in recent years, despite the fact that there is more money and staff than ever. Work is being done on better cooperation between municipalities and care providers and on preventive guidance. But a real solution is still pending.

"The nasty conclusion is that the end of the waiting lists is not yet in sight in the coming years. The ministry promises to improve and wants to reorganize mental health care by changing the guidance at the front end. The idea is that people will then find the specific care they need more quickly and will not go from waiting list to waiting list. But the honest answer is that this is a very slow process and we do not yet know the outcome."

According to De Groot, there is an urgent need for creative solutions in eating disorder care. "I hope that, also in politics, creative solutions will be considered. And that could be, for example, in more accessible guidance while waiting for regular care. Can't we organize that better or offer it more clearly?"

As long as waiting times do not decrease, the pressure on patients will remain high. Yet De Groot also sees something hopeful. "I get hope from the words of pediatrician Annemarie van Bellegem: if you are on a waiting list, it means that you have asked for help and that the road to recovery has begun and that is, especially with mental health issues, very important."

The episode of the KRO-NCRV program about the long waiting lists in mental health care can be seen on YouTube via the Pointer channel.

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