Wait times for eating disorder treatment in Canada grow during the pandemic

WARNING: This article contains details of an eating disorder

When Sally Chaster in Victoria experienced a relapse with anorexia nervosa in April 2021, she knew she wasn't going to come out of it on her own. 

She was losing a lot of weight and was very weak.

"During that time, I was in the worst relapse of my life," said Chaster, who was an executive director in the public service before she went on long-term disability due to anorexia.

She participated in a nutrition group and worked with a case manager monthly while waiting to be admitted to Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital.

She was admitted in December and spent six weeks at the hospital. 

"I waited eight months and I thought seriously that I was going to die," she said.

"It's a long time to wait, especially when you're getting sicker and sicker."

Wait times for treatment for eating disorders in Canada have grown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Psychologists, pediatricians, counsellors and others across the country said they've seen a jump in referrals throughout the pandemic for eating disorders. In many areas, that increase has resulted in longer wait times for publicly funded treatment. 

In some provinces, wait times for community-based and outpatient programs can be anywhere from six months to 18 months or longer. 

Experts say timely treatment is important so that the behaviours of eating disorders don't become entrenched.

"When you look at disordered eating and the behaviours associated with that, they can intensify and worsen. And certainly the pandemic has contributed to that. So it's really concerning when we look at those wait times," said Julia Klassen, eating disorder counsellor with the community-based Provincial Eating Disorder Prevention and Recovery Program (PEDPRP) in Winnipeg.

Access to those services is not uniform across the country; the territories and some Atlantic provinces are without publicly funded inpatient or residential services for eating disorders.