Eating Disorders QED quality assured by RCPsych

This week is Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2020! We are celebrating our teams at Cotswold House in Oxford and Marlborough who have recently both achieved re-accreditation with QED. This demonstrates high standards of care given to patients and families provided by our dedicated teams.

Eating disorders are very serious mental illnesses which can affect anyone. 1.25 million people in the UK are living with an eating disorder. Each person has a unique recovery and in most cases their eating disorder impacts their support network of friends and family. This means up to 5 million people struggle to cope with eating disorders.

Our eating disorder units in Oxford and Marlborough offer inpatient and day patient treatment programmes across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Wiltshire. Treatment involves group and individual therapies as well as medical and dietary support.

It is important we support all our service users in recovery and our staff provide a safe, friendly and caring environment. We received positive feedback for both units following our re-accreditation with QED.

Cotswold House in Marlborough has good morale on the ward with patients feeling staff are responsive, approachable and supportive whilst focusing on individual patient care and involvement. Patients also appreciated meal times support, feeling included in menu reviews and their own meal planning. Carers too felt supported, praising the ward team’s communication and accessibility for themselves and their loved ones, supporting all aspects of recovery.

Cotswold House in Oxford were delighted with their positive feedback, staff were said to be approachable and empathetic with a zero tolerance attitude. The carers support group provides helpful emotional support, allowing carers to talk to others. Patients again recognise the support given at the dining table alongside dietitians communicating well in a thoughtful manner.

Staff expressed they feel valued, listened to and respected by on another in a safe environment. They praised the supervision and debriefs received and encouragement to attend training and contribute new ideas.

In response to our re-accreditation Rob Bale commented, “To know patients feel they are working as a team with our staff to recover from their illnesses is excellent, focusing on goals rather than just BMI. We are pleased with our QED re-accreditations and would like to thank our staff for their commitment.”