Minister leads call on eating disorder services in Wales 2026

Key Points

• Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing Sarah Murphy has urged NHS health boards in Wales to improve access to eating disorder services and adopt a stronger early-intervention model ahead of Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2026.​
• The Welsh Government communication “Minister leads call to action for Eating Disorder Awareness Week” states that the NHS is being encouraged to commit to better access and a new model focused on early intervention.​
• NHS Wales’ Seek Help Now campaign underlines that more than 1.25 million people in the UK are affected by eating disorders, but only about a third formally seek help.​
• In the same statement, as reported on GOV.WALES, Minister Sarah Murphy said she has called on health boards to provide “timely” treatment and focus on early intervention because early support has a positive impact on outcomes for people living with an eating disorder.​
• The Minister added it is “pleasing” to see progress in expanding eating disorder services across Wales, while stressing the ongoing goal of treating more people closer to home and increasing research into eating disorders.​
• Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2026 in Wales runs from 23 February to 1 March, with a theme of “community”, highlighting the role of families, friends and wider support networks in recovery.
• According to NHS Wales material on the Seek Help Now campaign, a recent review found that only 32% of people with an eating disorder formally seek help despite evidence that earlier treatment improves chances of full recovery.​
• The Seek Help Now initiative has been developed by the NHS Wales Performance and Improvement Eating Disorders Network as a Bevan Commission Exemplar project to provide clear information, self-help tools and routes to support in one place.
• As reported by the Welsh Government’s 2019 written statement on eating disorder services by then Health Minister Vaughan Gething, Wales previously commissioned a comprehensive review that made 22 recommendations to reconfigure services towards earlier intervention and improve outcomes.​
• The current resources for Seek Help Now form part of a £2 million investment in NHS Performance and Improvement to enhance quality, outcomes and same‑day access for mental health support.​
• Minister Sarah Murphy has previously described peer support services, such as Aneurin Bevan University Health Board’s Specialist Eating Disorders Service (SEDS), as a “game changer” for people struggling with eating disorders, reflecting wider efforts to expand early intervention models.
• In that earlier work, the Minister highlighted that at least 1 in 50 people in the UK are living with an eating disorder, underscoring the scale of need for accessible, evidence‑based services.​
• The Eating Disorder Network within NHS Wales continues to lead the Seek Help Now programme, which aims to encourage people to seek help early if they suspect an eating disorder in themselves or someone close to them.
• The GOV.WALES notes to editors for the current campaign direct the public and professionals to online information, self‑help resources and support services for eating disorders via NHS Wales platforms.
• Charities such as Beat, the UK’s leading eating disorder charity, referenced in the NHS Wales campaign material, have found that four in five people believe greater public awareness would make it easier to talk about eating disorders and challenge harmful misconceptions.

Wales (The Wales Times) February 23,2026 – The NHS in Wales is being urged to commit to improving access to eating disorder services and to embed a new model of early intervention, as Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing Sarah Murphy leads a call to action ahead of Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2026.​

Why is the Minister calling for better access to eating disorder services?

As set out in the Welsh Government news release

“Minister leads call to action for Eating Disorder Awareness Week”,

Mental Health Minister Sarah Murphy has called on health boards to strengthen access to timely treatment for people with eating disorders. The statement explains that the Minister’s appeal comes as part of wider efforts to ensure that individuals receive help earlier, with services designed around early intervention rather than late‑stage crisis care.​

According to the same GOV.WALES article, the Minister’s message is directed at the NHS across Wales, with a clear emphasis on moving towards a model that prioritises early identification, rapid assessment and prompt therapeutic responses. The communication frames this call to action within the context of ongoing work to expand specialist services and to make sure support is available closer to people’s homes.​

What does Sarah Murphy say about early intervention and access?

As reported by the Welsh Government on GOV.WALES, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing Sarah Murphy stated:

“I’ve called on health boards to improve access to timely treatment and focus on early intervention, as we know the positive impact earlier help and support can have for people living with an eating disorder.”

In this quotation, she links early intervention with better clinical and personal outcomes, stressing that delays can worsen the severity and complexity of illness.​

The same GOV.WALES article records Sarah Murphy further saying:

“It is pleasing to see progress being made in expanding eating disorder services across Wales, but we are still striving for more people to be treated closer to home and further research into eating disorders.”

By acknowledging both progress and remaining gaps, the Minister underlines a neutral but firm view that reforms are ongoing and must continue to be evidence‑driven.​

In addition, another Welsh Government release on peer support for eating disorders notes that Sarah Murphy has previously described services providing early intervention, including peer support, as “a game changer” for people struggling with eating disorders. In that earlier statement, she emphasised that she is aware of “the devastating impact of eating disorders and how life‑saving these services can be”, reinforcing her current push for earlier and more accessible help.​

What is the Seek Help Now campaign and why is it important?

NHS Wales’ Seek Help Now campaign is highlighted in the GOV.WALES call‑to‑action article as a central element of the current approach to eating disorder support. That statement notes that the campaign

“highlights that more than 1.25 million people in the UK are affected by eating disorders, but only around a third formally seek help”,

illustrating both the scale of the issue and the gap in treatment.​

A detailed description of the campaign on the NHS Wales Performance and Improvement website explains that Seek Help Now has been developed to raise awareness of eating disorders in Wales and to encourage people to seek help early. The article states that this campaign is intended to benefit people with suspected or diagnosed eating disorders, as well as families, carers and health professionals, by providing a high‑level overview of information, self‑help resources and ways to access support in one place.​

As reported by clinical lead Dr Chris O’Connor of the Strategic Programme for Mental Health in the same NHS Wales piece,

“early help and support can lead to better outcomes, faster recovery, and reduced severity of eating disorders”,

and the campaign has been designed to help people navigate what can otherwise be fragmented online information. The campaign is also described as part of the Bevan Commission’s Exemplar Programme, which supports health and care professionals in developing and testing innovative ideas over a 12‑month period.

How many people are affected and how many seek help?

The GOV.WALES call‑to‑action article reports that NHS Wales’ Seek Help Now campaign highlights more than 1.25 million people in the UK are affected by eating disorders, but only around a third formally seek help. This figure is presented to underline the proportion of people who remain without formal support despite living with a significant mental health condition.​

Complementing this, the Performance and Improvement article on the campaign notes that a recent review found only 32% of people with an eating disorder formally sought help. That material points out that research shows the earlier someone receives support and treatment, the greater the likelihood of full recovery, providing the core rationale for an early‑intervention and awareness‑raising approach.​

In a separate Welsh Government statement on peer support services, Minister Sarah Murphy noted that “at least 1 in 50 people in the UK” are currently living with an eating disorder. This estimate, used alongside the 1.25 million figure, again points to eating disorders as a widespread public health issue that requires coordinated services and clear routes into care.

How does this year’s Eating Disorders Awareness Week shape the message?

According to GOV.WALES and the Welsh Government media service, Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2026 in Wales runs from 23 February to 1 March and has the theme of “community”. The GOV.WALES call‑to‑action article explains that this theme focuses on the importance of support from family, friends and broader networks for people undergoing treatment and recovery.

The media service version of the announcement emphasises that this year’s theme is intended to highlight the “vital role” that communities play in recovery, suggesting that clinical provision and peer‑network support are both central to positive outcomes. Earlier, in 2025, a Welsh Government statement marking Eating Disorder Awareness Week with the theme “anyone can be affected by an eating disorder” stressed that no demographic is immune, a framing that aligns with the current emphasis on community‑wide awareness.

What funding and structural changes support this call to action?

The GOV.WALES call‑to‑action article states that resources for the Seek Help Now campaign form part of a £2 million investment in NHS Performance and Improvement. According to that article, this investment aims to improve quality and outcomes and to provide same‑day access for people seeking mental health support, including those with eating disorders.​

In addition, background material from the Welsh Government’s 2019 written statement on the review of Welsh eating disorder services, authored by then Health Minister Vaughan Gething, indicates that more than £1.75 million had previously been invested in eating disorder services for adults and young people in Wales. That review, led by Dr Jacinta Tan, made 22 recommendations and called for services to be “reconfigured towards earlier intervention”, setting a policy direction that the current Minister’s call appears to continue.​

The same 2019 statement noted a commitment to provide a central resource to help health boards plan changes and flagged targeted and recurrent investment of over £700,000, rising to around £1 million in subsequent years, to support service improvements. These figures illustrate a multi‑year trajectory of investment and reform into which the current £2 million investment in performance and improvement can be placed.

How have services and early intervention models developed across Wales?

The Welsh Government peer support statement highlights Aneurin Bevan University Health Board’s Specialist Eating Disorders Service (SEDS) as a key example of early‑intervention practice. According to that release, SEDS has been expanded with Welsh Government funding, accepts primary care referrals and provides support across all risk levels, including peer support for individuals and carers.​

As reported by the same statement, Minister Sarah Murphy described these services as

“a game changer for people who are struggling with eating disorders to be given advice and support from those who have experience themselves”.

She also stressed that

“we need to ensure these vital support services are available and accessible to everyone who needs them”,

which dovetails with her current push for improved access and early help.​

Local and national media have echoed this description: for example, Nation.Cymru and Greatest Hits Radio South Wales carried reports describing the peer support service as a “game changer” and noting the Minister’s praise for the early‑intervention model. These reports, while focused on a specific health board, show how the Welsh Government wants successful models to be “expanded across Wales”, reflecting a broader structural agenda.

What is the role of the Eating Disorder Network and the Bevan Commission?

NHS Wales documents referenced in the Performance and Improvement article explain that the Eating Disorder Network, part of the NHS Wales Executive, is leading the Seek Help Now campaign as a Bevan Commission Exemplar project. The Exemplar Programme, according to that description, supports health and care professionals to refine and implement prudent healthcare ideas over a 12‑month timeframe, giving structured backing to innovations in service delivery.

This role for the Eating Disorder Network aligns with other work mentioned in the Welsh Government’s peer support statement, which notes that the Network is developing an all‑Wales early‑intervention service model and that waiting times for assessment and treatment have been reduced to four weeks in some health boards. The same statement also records that a task and finish group is creating targeted strategies for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), with specific funded services already in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board’s CAMHS and Hywel Dda University Health Board.​

Taken together, these initiatives illustrate how the Eating Disorder Network and Bevan Commission‑backed projects underpin the Minister’s call by seeking consistent, evidence‑based approaches to early intervention across Wales. They also show a focus on workforce skills, with work underway to ensure that healthcare staff have appropriate training to treat people with eating disorders and the development of online training modules.

How do charities and public awareness efforts support the government’s message?

The NHS Wales Performance and Improvement article on Seek Help Now cites research from Beat, described there as the UK’s leading charity supporting people with eating disorders. It notes that in a Beat survey, four in five people with eating disorders believed greater public awareness would make them feel more comfortable talking about their condition, and that increased understanding would help challenge misconceptions that deter help‑seeking.​

NHS 111 Wales information pages and linked resources, such as the Beat listing on the NHS 111 Wales directory, provide further public signposting to advice, tools and helplines for people with eating disorders. These resources complement the Welsh Government’s call to action by giving practical routes for individuals and families to act on the Seek Help Now message.

By highlighting these findings and partnerships, the current campaign positions awareness‑raising, clinical reform and community‑based support as interconnected elements of a wider response to eating disorders in Wales. The Minister’s statements, coupled with the evidence cited by NHS and third‑sector organisations, present a consistent narrative that early recognition, timely treatment and strong support networks can significantly improve outcomes for those affected.