It can take a lot of courage for someone living with an eating disorder to admit they need help. But all too often those who struggle are held back by a complex health system, a shortage of trained clinicians, GPs who don’t pick up on the warning signs, and the high cost of treatment. That’s over and above the ever-present myths that surround eating disorders.

Imogen tells us how she couldn't find the right specialists through the public health system until she became medically unstable enough to be hospitalised. Alex describes how his daughter's recovery and access to support was impacted by lockdowns in both Melbourne and Sydney. And Jeanette shares her story of dealing with medical professionals who had little experience with eating disorders. She had to travel hundreds of kilometres to get appropriate care.

Dr Kim Hurst, President of the Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) confirms that the system has been difficult for people with lived experience, mostly because of the shortage of trained clinicians. Dr. Gemma Sharp, the creator of Butterfly’s chatbot KIT, agrees. She advocates that all health professionals should receive at least basic training about eating disorders, regardless of what profession they’re in.

The good news is that Kim and Gemma are amongst many dedicated people who are developing programs to address the situation. In this podcast, you’ll hear about some of these, along with all our guests’ thoughts about how, in the interim, we can deal with the difficulty of accessing care.