with stakeholders across the region to drive improvements in care for children and young people through two significant projects .
Tackling eating disorders
FREED stands for ‘ First Episode Rapid Early Intervention for Eating Disorders ’ and is a service for 16 to 25-year-olds who have had an eating disorder for three years or less .
Young people getting help for their eating disorder through FREED are given rapid access to specialised treatment which pays particular attention to challenges we know young people face during these years of their life , and in the early stages of an eating disorder ( ED ).
The service was developed and tested by the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust Foundation ’ s Eating Disorders Unit and King ’ s College London . When FREED was compared with “ treatment as usual ”, it reduced the amount of time an eating disorder was left untreated by four to six months , patients waited less time for assessment and treatment , and had better treatment outcomes , and costsavings through reduction in day / inpatient treatments were found to be £ 4,400 per patient .
National implementation of this NHS service has been supported by the AHSN Network . In early 2021 , the Yorkshire & Humber AHSN established a FREED task and finish group within the Humber and North Yorkshire ( HNY ) Health and Care Partnership . The task and finish group was supported by City Health Care Partnership CIC ( CHCP ), NAViGO CIC as well as the HNY Provider Collaborative . Through the support of this group , CHCP launched their FREED service in August 2021 , with NAViGO launching their new service in February 2022 . Both services , which were part-funded by the AHSN , have made excellent progress with this innovative pathway and are seeing significant patient benefits such as reduced anxiety towards care as well as a reduction in the levels of disengagement from those needing treatment .
Subsequently , we established a second FREED task and finish group to support the development of FREED services within South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System
“
The Yorkshire & Humber AHSN have been an exceptional partner in our journey towards embedding
FREED within our service . They have offered us a warm hand to reach for when uncertain of processes or on questions around compliance .
The team have been relentlessly positive and optimistic and gave us all the encouragement we could wish for . Equally important has been their appreciation and respect for what we had to offer and the experience and expertise we brought to the table .”
Chris Hood , Chief Executive Officer ,
South Yorkshire Eating Disorders Association
19 Transforming Lives Through Innovation