Service : Eating Disorder Service

We are known as the Berkshire Eating Disorder Service (BEDS).

We are an all-age specialist assessment and treatment service for people with symptoms of an eating disorder. We offer community-based secondary care, which means our service runs in clinics rather than big hospitals.

This page is for adults aged 18 years and above. For children and young people, please go to our other service page:

• Eating Disorder Service for children and young people

We are a multidisciplinary team, which means we have a range of professionals, including:

• clinical/counselling psychologists
• psychiatrists
• specialist dietitians
• GPs
• mental health nurses
• art therapists
• psychological therapists
• mental health practitioners
• administrators

We all have experience working with people with eating difficulties and their families.

We can help you if you are struggling with symptoms of an eating disorder or if you have been diagnosed with an eating disorder. We accept referrals for individuals who present with symptoms of:

• anorexia nervosa
• bulimia nervosa
• binge eating disorder
• other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED)

We are not set up to treat:

• avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
• pica (psychological compulsive craving or eating of non-edible items)
• rumination disorder

Download our booklet for more information about the service.

You need to be aged 18 or over and registered with a GP in  Berkshire to access our service.

Your GP or healthcare professional can refer you. Unfortunately, we don’t accept self-referrals, but you can still use the self-help resources on this website or that we've recommended below.

Once we've received your referral, we will:

• look at it closely to make sure we could be the right service for you
• assess the urgency and speed up your referral if your presentation and difficulty are serious and require a rapid response (an appointment within a few weeks)
• send you a letter to ask you to opt in and confirm whether you'd like to receive an appointment (if we decide we could be the right service for you) – you will then be added to our waiting list for a face-to-face assessment appointment

After the assessment with you (and if we feel that we're the best service to offer you help) we will:

• agree a treatment plan with you
• write to your GP with a summary of the assessment

Before your assessment, we will send you some questionnaires. Please make sure that you complete these as soon as possible before your appointment. Your answers help us understand more about your current difficulties.

You're welcome to bring another adult with you if you would like some support during your assessment.

At the appointment, someone from our team will come to meet you and take you to a clinic room.

The assessment usually lasts between one and two hours and during this time we will:

• introduce ourselves to each other
• let you know how information is recorded and kept confidential in the NHS
• ask you about how things have been for you and about your eating
• give you the opportunity to ask any questions you have

Sometimes, we'll check your height and weight. This will help us understand how any eating difficulties may be affecting your physical wellbeing.

If we would like to check other aspects of your physical health, we'll connect with your GP to follow up where appropriate. 

What happens next?

At the end of your assessment, we will be able to share with you what the next steps are, and, if appropriate, what treatments can be offered.

Unfortunately, there may be a further wait for some treatments. We will discuss this with you.

After the assessment, we will write up a report and send a copy to both you and your GP.

Self-help and further information

Advice for care givers

Dietetics support

SHaRON

Support Hope and Recovery Online Network: is an e-health system providing peer support that is anonymous, secure and moderated.