Aroundtown Magazine Winter 2022 edition

HEALTH & BEAUTY
A step in the right
direction
for young people with eating disorders
Since opening their Yorkshire
hospital in Rotherham two years
ago, Ellern Mede Moorgate, a
specialist hospital for eating
disorders, has supported
countless young people through
recovery from this
life-threatening illness.
Ellern Mede care for patients aged eight to 25
who have the most complex or chronic eating
disorders and vow to never give up on any
patient. With the right support and intervention,
eating disorders are often curable and Ellern
Mede has a high success rate.
One young person whose life has changed
through inpatient intervention is 17-year-old
Sophie* whose family had been trying to access
mental health support for her since she was five.
As her mental and physical health deteriorated
during her early teens, Sophie was eventually
referred by the NHS for urgent treatment at Ellern
Mede in early 2020 shortly after the Moorgate site
opened. She spent 14 months there to treat an
eating disorder as well as anxiety, depression and
pathological demand avoidance.
At the height of her illness, Sophie couldn’t
walk more than a few steps, she was refusing
to eat or drink, and required naso-gastric and
pump feeding to restore nutritional balance. Due
to the complexities of her condition, she required
a unique and specialist approach which Ellern
Mede Moorgate did not hesitate to provide,
training their staff specifically in how to deal with
Sophie for best results.
During her time at Ellern Mede, Sophie was
supported by a multi-disciplinary team of
doctors, psychologists, dietitians and social
workers who encouraged her to make small
steps along her journey to recovery.
Sophie says: “I focused on goals such as
getting over my anxiety about germs so I could
cuddle my dog again, getting healthy and strong
enough to dance and teach dance, and going
back into mainstream education to give me a
future career as a psychologist to help other
people like me. As I got better, I was able to look
back and realise how far I’d come.”
The Ellern Mede team tailor their therapy
around individual patients’ needs and goals and
for Sophie this included having a dance teacher
give dance lessons at the hospital once her
weight was at a safe level and she was strong
enough to exercise. She then went on to pass a
Level 3 dance exam five days after leaving Ellern
Mede Moorgate.
“Dance is my main coping mechanism and
my way of dealing with emotions. I was able to
get the same buzz from my dancing as I got
previously from my eating disorder,” Sophie says.
One of the main benefits of having specialist
treatment at Ellern Mede is that the hospital is
close to her home which enabled Sophie’s family
to visit and have her home for weekends, which
would have been impossible if she had been
admitted somewhere miles from home.
After 14 months of treatment, doctors, Sophie
and her family agreed that she was ready for
discharge from inpatient to outpatient treatment
with Ellern Mede. She’s now back home,
maintaining her weight, managing her difficulties,
eating and drinking by herself, and working
with community specialists and educationalists
including Ellern Mede Outpatient therapies.
With a rising need for their services, Ellern
Mede has now launched another eating disorders
hospital in Derbyshire for families in the Midlands.
Ellern Mede Derby becomes the fourth site within
the group, with the other two hospitals based in
London.
As with all Ellern Mede hospitals, patients
receive education on site to GCSE and A-level
which is led by the team that run the OFSTEDoutstanding
Ellern Mede Ridgeway school in
London.
Across the group, the clinical team work hard
to ensure all young people are well supported
throughout their recovery, helping patients feel
validated, learn new coping mechanisms and
get their young lives back on track. They are
recruiting for various roles across the Moorgate
and Derby sites, with positions for registered
mental health and learning disability nurses,
healthcare assistants, family therapists, clinical
psychologists, dieticians and social workers to
name a few.
If you would like to make a difference
to young people’s lives, you can find
the full list of vacancies online at
www.ellernmede.org or
email careers@ellernmede.org
*Sophie’s name has been changed to protect her
identity.
Treating:
• Anorexia Nervosa • Bulimia • Binge eating disorders
• Eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS)
• Pervasive Arousal Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS)
Patients can be admitted informally or in terms of the Mental Health Act
A 12-bed hospital in Rotherham
for children and young adults
with eating disorders
• NHS referrals • Private patients
• Medical insurance options
Inpatient, outpatient and day patient services available
136 Moorgate Road,
Queensway, Rotherham S60 3AZ
020 3981 7252 or
Head Office: 0203 209 7900
www.ellernmede.org
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