Date for delivery of eating disorder inpatient facility yet to be determined

ACT and Commonwealth government negotiations over the Community Health and Hospitals program took 14 months.

As a result, the ACT can't access the $13.5 million in federal funding available for the clinic until the 2021-22 financial year.

The Canberra Liberals promised to fast-track the clinic's delivery if elected later this month, by bridging the Commonwealth funding gap this financial year.

But other than their election promise to "grow the pie", where that money would come from has not yet been provided.

A committee comprised of Canberra health professionals and eating disorder specialists charged with deciding on the model of care and location for the facility met for the first time two months ago.

This is despite the ACT government reporting extensive consultations with stakeholders were under way in March.

An ACT Health spokesperson said the ACT government had supported people with eating disorders through a range of ways during negotiations, including funding an Eating Disorders Specialist Clinical Hub.

The hub, which aims to improve the way services across the territory work together, was established with a $179,000 package announced in last year's budget.

The money had been spent finding a manager for the hub and allowing for its planning to begin, the spokesperson said.

Executive director of mental health Karen Grace said that consultation had taken place through the same committee planning for the inpatient facility.

Ms Grace said she was surprised to hear one of the committee members who spoke to The Canberra Times this week had not heard of the Eating Disorders Specialist Clinical Hub.

"I'm on that committee and its chaired by the chief psychiatrist and it's representative of both CHS and the Health Directorate, and we made a very clear decision to ensure they were oversighted to ensure integration," she said.

Ms Grace said she could not comment on whether or not she was satisfied with the speed in which the inpatient facility was being delivered, because the contract was with the Health Directorate and not with Canberra Health Services.

"What we are trying to do is build on what we have already got and ensure that every different piece of the puzzle delivers a seamless service," she said.

Currently inpatient treatment for eating disorders only exists in Canberra for people who require acute care. The beds, which are not part of a specialised unit, are usually reserved for sufferers at risk of their bodies shutting down.

Ms Grace said part of the work of the hub over the course of the next four years would be educating clinicians on those general wards on how best to manage patients with eating disorders.

In addition to hospitalisation for the seriously ill, Canberra sufferers of bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa or binge eating disorders can seek treatment at the Philip Health Centre in Woden.

The waitlist to access the program, which includes therapy and support from a nutritionist in an outpatient setting, has been around six months for much of this year.

A Canberra Health Service spokesperson said priority was given to people recently discharged from hospital, with significant barriers to alternative treatment or for those under 18.

Melissa Keller-Tuberg had just started high school when she started developing disordered eating behaviours.

She said a formal diagnosis took about two years due to the difficulty in navigating services in Canberra.

After being hospitalised at 16, Ms Keller-Tuberg said it took about five years after she was discharged to develop close to a normal relationship with food.

She said the lack of integration among health service providers had contributed to her eating disorder.

"When I was most ill, I was weighed separately on three different scales by my GP, nutritionist and family therapist," Ms Keller-Tuberg said.

"Often the scales all said different things - one appointment said that I was doing well, the other said I had to change my meal plan. Once the difference was whether I might need to go to hospital soon or not."

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Now studying psychology with the intention to help treat the growing number of people presenting with an eating disorder in Australia, Ms Keller-Tuberg tells her story to advocate for better services.

"I think one of the most important areas of focus in mental health system reform is making sure that an individual's journey is as smooth as possible and they don't have to bounce around services," she said.

She said her ability to engage with the services prior to her hospitalisation had been reduced due to how exhausting it was constantly having to repeat the same story to several different people.

"The stress of being weighed three times in one day and all the numbers being different definitely contributed to my eating disorder, rather than helping it," she said.

Ms Keller-Tuberg said she can only imagine what families are going through waiting for this inpatient facility.

"I get the sense that this new centre is not being treated with a sense of urgency, and it worries me because the outcomes are scary if we don't take it seriously," she said.

"Early intervention is one of the strongest predictors of recovery, so for people who are seeking treatment for the first time and having to have complicated and exhaustive experiences bouncing through the current system, if that doesn't work out for them unfortunately it's going to be a harder journey in the long run."