00:00 I've been tracking the numbers of children getting treated for eating disorders since
00:03 before the pandemic. Now, two years after the pandemic, they are double what they were
00:08 before. So 11,000, nearly 12,000 children are actually starting hospital treatment,
00:15 care treatment for eating disorders. That's twice what it was. Also, waiting times have
00:21 gone up. So the NHS has a target that a child will -- serious cases will be treated within
00:27 one week and more routine cases within four. So many children are going to, like, three
00:33 months waiting and just not getting the support they need as quickly as they do. The government
00:37 have put more money in and a lot more money, but what's happened is there's been a real
00:42 explosion in these cases that I think was not predicted. We've got a postcode lottery
00:46 in terms of the quality of treatment across the country. So that makes it even worse.
00:51 And I think these waiting times, you know, the NHS under pressure, these waiting times
00:55 go on and on. And I think, sadly, children often get left to the bottom of the pile.
01:00 And we need children to be prioritised because eating disorders can cause death or serious
01:05 problems for the whole of a child's life. So we need them treated with -- treated quickly,
01:10 picked up quickly. And we need a focus on early intervention. If we can nip these things
01:15 in the bud with the things I'm talking about, getting kids off social media, the social
01:20 media companies stepping up and taking this obnoxious material down on extreme dieting,
01:25 schools playing their part, GPs playing their part, and parents having the conversations
01:30 with children, and particularly teenage girls. But, you know, boys' numbers have doubled
01:34 as well about what's happening in their lives can really help.
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