Peterborough eating disorder charity sees number of cases soar - and are on the lookout for a new home to help more people

A Peterborough eating disorder charity has said they have seen a huge rise in cases – and are now on the look out for a new home to help cope with demand.

Personalised Eating Disorder Support (PEDS) has seen hundreds of Peterborough people coming to them for help to deal with issues including anorexia and bulimia over the past year – and now need to move from their home at the Boroughbury Medical Centre in Craig Street, Peterborough, to help them cope.

Once stereotypically seen as a ‘teenage girl’ issue, the charity said they now have a range of people coming for help – with their youngest patient aged just four, and their oldest aged 84.

Mandy Scott, co founder of PEDS said: “We have seen the number of referrals to us quadruple in recent times. We have 700 referrals in a year across Cambridgeshire – and a lot of those are from Peterborough.

"Anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder are the main problems we are seeing at the moment, but there are other issues as well.

"We see people from across the community – a few years ago, people associated eating disorders with teenage girls, but we now have a range of people coming for help.

"We get quite a few people who are neurodiverse, or who are transgender.

"It is a real issue – anorexia and bulimia have one of the biggest mortality rates of any mental health issue.”

A majority of the charity’s clients come from the NHS, city and county councils, and two universities – Anglia Ruskin and Cambridge University.

Along with providing support for people struggling with the conditions, the charity also provides education to others.

Mandy said: “We have an education team going to schools, colleges, universities – we also have GPs and others on our side too.

"It helps people spot the red flags, so people who need help can get it as soon as possible.”

Many of the patients helped by PEDS are referred to the charity by GPs, but the charity also offers a self referral service on their website.

Mandy said: “We have had some big successes – it is all about relationship building. We are there with support for as long as the patient needs.”

The charity recently marked its 10th anniversary – and is now looking to take the next step.

Mandy said: “We are now looking to set up the first nurse-led eating disorder centre in the UK, and it will be in Peterborough.

"We need a new premises to do this – preferably a house, but it could be an old GP surgery, office space or care home.

"It needs to be a bit like a DIY SOS effort – the more people we can get on board to help with the project, the better.”

For more information about the charity, and how to access support if you need it – or if you can help the charity, visit https://www.pedsupport.co.uk/