Wait Times Down to Less Than a Month for Eating Disorder Service

In 2014 the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network approached CMHA WW, concerned about the wait time for care for those who were struggling with an Eating Disorder in our region. Eating Disorders has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness and as a result wait times for service are always a concern. Due to the medical complications that are also prevalent in Eating Disorders, the wait for care also compromises individuals medical health and necessitates frequent visits to the Emergency departments or hospitalizations for medical stabilization before individuals are even seen at CMHA WW for their illness.

In April of 2015 our agency received over $300,000 to increase human resources on the ED service in efforts to tackle an ever increasing waitlist.  At that point in time children and youth were waiting on average six months for an assessment while the wait for adult care ranged from four to six months.  In April of 2015, three new staff were hired and our wait times have steadily improved over the past year and a half to the point where the wait for service is less than a month.  The chronicity and the complexity of this illness often means people are in service for about a year and a half for children and youth and up to three years for adults so being able to reduce the waiting time is a significant contribution to their care and recovery.

We are very proud of the hard work and dedication of the Eating Disorders service to reduce this wait for care and provide our residents with more accessible and timely service. Thank you to the WW LHIN for investing the funds to help reduce wait times for the Eating Disorders service.