The grant supports our Helpline in Scotland and allows us to provide support programmes for Scottish people with eating disorders, their families and carers. It will also fund more than 450 places on our training courses for professionals in healthcare, schools and universities.
The grant will help us develop new online self-help resources, e-learning modules and peer support groups for carers, designed specifically for Scotland. These will be available as part of the POD platform for carers. We’ll also be launching a new Helpline service to help people access the right NHS treatment, as well as providing free places for people in Scotland at all our professional and carer workshops in the next year.
Beat’s National Lead for Scotland, Alex Jones said:
‘Eating disorders are serious and complex mental illnesses which ruin lives and have devastating impacts on families and carers. We’re incredibly grateful for the Scottish government’s continued support in our mission to end the suffering caused by eating disorders.
‘Our Helpline services, support programmes, training courses and online resources are a vital source of support to people in Scotland living with eating disorders and their loved ones. Demand for our services has grown dramatically over the last few years – thanks to this grant, we’re able to continue to provide care to those who need it most.’
Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said:
‘It is important that people get access to the right care and treatment as soon as possible and continuing to improve eating disorder services in Scotland remains a priority for the Scottish Government.”
‘The third sector is instrumental to delivering this goal and we are delighted to continue to fund Beat, the UK’s largest Eating Disorder charity, to provide a range of vital support services for those impacted by an eating disorder. In addition Beat offers training courses for professionals in healthcare, schools and universities to help identify symptoms and ensure those impacted can access support at the earliest opportunity.’