“it’s a need that we’ve had for a long time, to continue to develop our services,” kurji said. “but now with the explosion of kids who are struggling with eating disorders, it really does highlight how much we need.
“and it’s taxing the rest of our system as well, because these kids need care.”
hinz said that became particularly apparent because the in-patient dietitian has been away on leave.
“it’s been almost impossible to get kids in hospital access to a dietitian,” hinz said. “of course, because of the pandemic, we’ve seen leaves really escalate either due to needing to be on isolation or quarantine, or other reasons.”
it points to the fragility of a system contingent on broad solutions and few people, she said.
the saskatchewan health authority says it’s aware that the pandemic has created an increased demand for health-care services, including those for eating disorders.
“we continue to do our best to balance these necessary health-care services with the response and pressures related to the covid-19 pandemic,” a statement says.
one of the biggest gaps that exist is the lack of “middle ground” for treatment between outpatient and in-patient care, kurji said.
a day program could be a solution because once the intense treatment period of medically re-stabilizing a patient in hospital is over, the weeks-long process of putting weight back on doesn’t need to entirely take place in hospital, she said.