HUNDREDS of children in the county have been accessing urgent treatment for eating disorders.

Some 217 children were treated for eating disorders at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in the year to June – up from 39 over the same period two years earlier.

Guidance states that 95 per cent of urgent referrals should be treated within one week.

But at the trust, 30.9 per cent met this threshold in the year to June.

Tom Quinn, director of external affairs at anti-eating disorder charity Beat, said the rise in waiting times and lists is "very concerning", with many children experiencing heightened anxiety during the pandemic, and some reaching out for help with eating disorders for the first time.

"NHS eating disorder treatment has increased dramatically since before the coronavirus, and NHS services are not getting the funding or staffing that they need,” he said.

Mr Quinn called on the Government to publish a fully-funded mental health recovery plan – including announcing added funding and a workforce strategy – to ensure every person with an eating disorder can access treatment quickly.

The Department for Health and Social Care said it is "determined" to provide mental health care to those with eating disorders and that it will invest in services to treat an additional 345,000 children and young people by 2024.

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust was contacted for comment.