Eating disorder hospital admissions have spiked by more than a quarter but there are fears that is “just the tip of the iceberg”.
Mental health issues are on the rise because of the Covid pandemic and experts point out eating disorders thrive in isolation.
The Scottish Lib-Dems are prioritising the expansion of mental health services and say that must include those with eating disorders getting fast access to specialists.
The party has uncovered figures which show a pre-pandemic rise of 28 per cent in the number of inpatients admitted with an eating disorder diagnosis.
According to Public Health Scotland data the number of inpatients admitted with an eating disorder increased from 434 to 556 between 2013 and 2018.
Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity, stated that “eating disorders thrive in isolation” and that the pandemic “is having a profound, negative impact on people with experience of an eating disorder”.
It also notes that anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, with rates for other disorders including bulimia nervosa also high.
Beat said that the current Mental Health Strategy’s principle of “ask once, get help fast” is “far from reality for many people in Scotland with an eating disorder”.
Scottish Liberal Democrats have committed to refresh the Mental Health Strategy.
Rennie said: “Since these figures were recorded, the pandemic has taken a terrible toll on people’s mental health. My real worry is that these figures are just the tip of the iceberg.
“Just as the vaccine has given us hope that the covid crisis can be overcome, we must be looking at ways to ensure that the support and resources are there to prevent other health crises too.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to put recovery first for mental health. We’ve led Parliament in declaring a mental health crisis and our budget agreement means there is £120 million more available for services from this month.
“The increasing numbers of people being hospitalised pre-pandemic with an eating disorder show, once again, why that extra investment must only be the start.
“The last year has been hard for everyone but it has been especially hard for people seeking or waiting for mental health treatment.
"Experts are telling us that people with eating disorders have reported a marked worsening of their symptoms.
“There were record long waits for mental health treatment before the pandemic struck. More than 1500 children and 5000 adults are now waiting over a year.
“We know 25,000 calls to the NHS 24 mental health hub phone line have gone unanswered.
“People who have voted SNP in the past are telling me that they are appalled at the waiting times for mental health treatment. Many want to see a Parliament that puts our differences on independence to one side and puts recovery first. That’s precisely what Scottish Liberal Democrats will do.”
