A 34-year-old lawyer and mum that was recently diagnosed with anorexia nervosa is leading a petition calling for improved eating disorder support services in the ACT.

After Kate Steen’s diagnosis, she discovered that there are no in-patient services for people living with eating disorders in the ACT and only one public specialist outpatient treatment option.

Despite the best efforts of a dedicated team, the Eating Disorders Program in Phillip has a months-long waitlist. 

“It takes guts to ask for help, and to be told that it won’t be provided for such a long time is more than heartbreaking — it’s incomprehensible,” she said. 

“An eating disorder is a time critical issue and unfortunately moments of clarity in the journey are too few and far between. The system has to be positioned to take people in as soon as they reach out for help.”

ACT Labor MLA Dr Marisa Paterson is sponsoring the petition and said there are many people in the community in a similar situation to Mrs Steen.

“Across Australia, eating disorders affect approximately four in every 100 people. We need to provide appropriate, dedicated support services,” Dr Paterson said. 

“This petition calls on the ACT government to provide an update on the actions that have been taken to improve access to the Eating Disorders Program, to review the demand for eating disorder support services to ensure  appropriate resourcing, and a refresh of the Position Statement.” 

ACT residents can view and sign the petition by November 23 here.