The sold out event was hosted at The Bridge, the London based charity that has been supporting women’s health and wellbeing since it was set up in 1932.
The event was co-organised by Dr Chukwuemeka Nwuba, a speciality doctor at Cygnet Hospital Ealing, together with Dr Ally Jaffee, a multi-award winning NHS junior doctor and co-founder of Nutritank.
An estimated 1.25 million people nationally have an eating disorder, and this number continues to climb. Yet, there remains a lack of knowledge by medical doctors when it comes to eating disorders. The aim of the event was to address the fact that eating disorders are rarely addressed in teaching at medical schools.
The conference featured a host of guest speakers including Dr Agnes Ayton, Chair of the Faculty of Eating Disorders at the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Dr Ayton provided an overview of the types of eating disorders and also highlighted the increasing prevalence of eating disorders amongst men.
The conference featured two guest speakers from Cygnet Hospital Ealing, Dr Amit Mistry, Consultant Psychiatrist, and Dr Caroline Fleming, Head of Psychology who both work on Sunrise Ward, the hospital’s specialist eating disorder service.
Dr Mistry is also a consultant sports psychiatrist to the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and he spoke about eating disorders in sport and the effect different weight categories has on those participating in sports where they are applicable. Dr Fleming gave a talk on the most commonly used therapies to treat eating disorders.
There were also a number of presentations from clinicians, former service users and medical students who have lived experience of an eating disorder. These included Dr Chloe Beale; author and radio presenter Natasha Devon MBE, and author and promotor of body positivity Megan Jayne Crabbe.
The conference was a huge success with Dr Nwuba saying: “Incredible venue. Powerful, inspirational speakers. Passionate guests. A huge thank you from myself and Dr Jaffee to our sponsors, speakers and guests for making this a truly special occasion.”
Laura Finlay, Director of Marketing at Cygnet Health Care said: “It was an honour for Cygnet to be main sponsor of the UK’s first eating disorder conference and to attend on the day. It’s important as an organisation that we support and provide education to future doctors around caring for individuals with an eating disorder. I’m looking forward to this event in the future and its growth.”