People living with an eating disorder will have more support and better access to services thanks to a $9.6 million funding boost announced today by the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government.

Minister for Mental Health Tanya Davies said existing funding will be more than doubled, to $16.8 million over the next four years, to grow the service coordination work of The InsideOut Institute and expand frontline Eating Disorder Coordinators positions.

“The treatment and prevention of eating disorders is a key priority of the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government,” Mrs Davies said.

“This funding boost will allow us to connect more people to the medical and mental health supports they need when being treated for an eating disorder.”

Eating Disorder Coordinators, trained by the InsideOut Institute, provide invaluable education to Local Health District (LHD) teams while also helping patients and their carers navigate their way to clinical supports, already provided by LHDs.

Clinical supports include a number of disciplines such as medical, psychiatry, dietetics, and other therapies like physiotherapy.

Mrs Davies said the funding will grow The InsideOut Institute team from 1.4 full-time equivalent positions to nine, which will bolster their service coordination work.

“The InsideOut Institute is instrumental to improving the lives of people in NSW who experience an eating disorder or care for someone who does,” Mrs Davies said.

Dr Sarah Maguire, Director of Australia’s national research and clinical excellence body The InsideOut Institute, co-hosted by Sydney LHD and the Charles Perkins Centre at The University of Sydney, said today’s announcement will enable her team to provide more leadership, advice and training to LHDs.

“It takes a team to care for someone living with an eating disorder – this can be an overwhelming experience for the patient and their carers, and also for the clinician. The expansion will mean they can be helped through this process,” Dr Maguire said.

For more information go to InsideOut - Institute for Eating Disorders. If you, or someone you know, needs crisis support phone Lifeline on 13 11 14. To access services in your local area contact the NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511.