The 'Focused Admission Pathway' has been co-produced by two specialist eating disorder inpatient treatment providers and the Provider Collaborative as an intensive treatment intervention, with individuals admitted hospital for a short, focused period, followed by specialist eating disorder therapy and care in the community.
It is anticipated that people who are physically compromised due to rapid weight loss will benefit in particular from the pilot programme as there will be a focus on initial weight restoration during a focused stay in hospital with longer-term treatment provided in the community.
As part of the programme, individuals will be supported by in-patient and community staff to develop clear, shared goals that can be achieved during a carefully-planned eight-week admission to hospital. Goals will be framed in the first person, for example:
- I would like to have support to improve my nutrition and restore weight
- I need help with developing a meal plan to maintain weight following discharge from hospital
- I would like to get used to being around people again as I have become socially isolated
- I would like to work on exploring creative activities which I may pursue after discharge
- I would like to explore what sources of social support are available to me after discharge.
This will enable clear care plans to be formulated by the inpatient team to support individuals to meet their goals. Regular meetings will take place between the individual and clinicians to ensure that the goals remain in focus and a seamless transition back to community care is achieved.
The pilot, which will involve 10 individuals, will be evaluated using quantitative and qualitative data. The experience of individuals who are taking part in the pilot will be central to the evaluation and will be used further shape the programme.