Waterlily programme makes a big difference for adults with anorexia
The Waterlily Inpatient Prevention Programme is a pioneering new online service, that has been piloted by the East Midlands NHS Provider Collaborative for adults with Anorexia Nervosa. Recent data suggests that those that have taken part in the programme, which has been running for 16 months, have demonstrated significant improvements in weight, psychological well-being and eating disordered behaviours.
The service delivers practical and psychoeducational groups as well as therapeutic interventions for patients, with the aim of restoring weight and preventing potential inpatient admission.
The service is available for those under the care of one of the five regional community eating disorder teams in the East Midlands, Monday to Friday, with the main programme lasting 16 weeks. Each person attending can also meet face-to-face with their allocated keyworker and take part in individualised community work with the Waterlily support workers. The programme offers ' step-down', where support and interventions are reduced to promote increasing independence and preparation for leaving the programme.
What difference has the programme made?
The pilot period (16 months) provided data that demonstrated significant improvements in people's weight, psychological well-being and eating disordered behaviours. Receiving treatment at home enabled service users to remain involved in aspects of their lives that lengthy hospital admissions would prevent, such as continuing hobbies and social activities. It also significantly reduced the disruption to family life. All loved ones are offered regular support calls and a Skills Group to equip them with skills and understanding to effectively support their loved one. All these important factors, not only provide a better quality of life during treatment, they have also been viewed as a motivating factor to recovery.
Results of routine outcome measures are outlined below, these are paired outcomes for those who have completed the programme:
- 95% demonstrated improvements in Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDEQ)
- 6 out of10 further improved their EDEQ scores, 3 months following the end of the programme
- 12 out of 21 gained more than 1.5 BMI points and 8 of them increased their BMI by 2 or more points
The graph shows changes in outcome measures for Waterlily patients (lower scores represent improvement for each measure), at the start and the end of the programme for attendees.
The second graph shows the improvement in body mass index (BMI) for those who have completed the programme, displaying their starting and ending BMIs.
Waterlily has received positive feedback from all attendees, including some feedback that the programme has saved my life . Feedback from loved ones has also been overwhelmingly positive. Some feedback from participants is shared below:
I honestly feel that Waterlily has changed my life for the better. 16 weeks ago I felt so hopeless, physically weak and unhappy that I did not know if I had the capacity to attempt to recover as I felt so stuck in my struggles.
Waterlily has put me in the best place I have been mentally since being diagnosed and the support and knowledge of the staff and fellow patients has helped me to address and admit to things which have held me back in the past and hindered full recovery previously.
Honestly saved my life, I am physically out of immediate danger and mentally challenging my anorexia everyday, I can't thank the team enough.
I feel that I am in a much safer place both physically and mentally since completing the programme. I have gained a much deeper understanding of the illness thanks to the programme and am able to spot triggers, which I was never aware of before.
My physical health has improved as I have gained weight from being on the programme, and my mental wellbeing has significantly improved as I really enjoyed the social aspect of the programme, and it helped me get my personality back
I honestly cannot credit this programme enough. The difference between my mental and physical wellbeing at the start of the programme compared to now is massively noticeable. I have learnt many new skills to help me process and manage my emotions, identify thoughts and behaviours that this can lead too.
As a result of developing and delivering this new service, the team were invited to contribute to the recent report by the eating disorders charity Beat. The report entitled, 'There's No Place Like Home', has been devised to present the case to Government for increased availability of intensive community and day treatments for people with eating disorders. After contributing, the team were invited to attend the launch of the report at the House of Lords in September.
Additionally, the team presented at the 'Dump the Scales' conference and have been invited to attend the campaign report launch in January 25, again, a report being devised to highlight the need for improved access and availability of services.