Crossword

Across

1 Candidates' assessment 4 Eight-note intervals 8 Multiple-birth child 11 Hosiery 13 Santa ... 15 Loathe 17 In favour of 18 Avenues 20 Seek damages from 21 Standoffish 24 Precious fur 27 Wow! 28 Foolish 30 Discourage 31 Painter's tripod 33 Make home 34 Most painful 35 Contributes 36 12-month period 39 Ousts 42 Festivals 44 Largest body joint 45 Tired sighs 46 Starchy tubers 48 Unambiguous 49 Emaciated 50 Deer 52 Warms 54 Cruel man 55 Scrub hard 56 Corsages 57 Rinse 60 School principal 62 Nitwits 65 Discord 67 Abate (3,2) 69 Gambler's maximum 70 Coward 72 Take line honours 73 Brace (oneself) 75 Old wives' tales 77 Illegal hallucinogen (1,1,1) 79 Unsuitable 81 Person of importance (1,1,1) 82 If ... walls could talk 84 Indian social order 85 Welded 86 Golfing stroke 87 Gloomiest 88 Invitation footnote (1,1,1,1)

Down

1 Ages 2 Grey-faced 3 Cattle sound 4 Peace prize city 5 Chewy confectionery 6 Ode sections 7 Graze crust 8 Existing condition, status ... 9 Consumption 10 Prescribed amount 12 Stretch (neck) 14 Zones 16 Construct 19 River-mouth land 22 House renter 23 Irregularity 25 Smells 26 Manoeuvring room 29 Weapons store 32 Pig's pen 35 Flight staff 37 Follow 38 Shook noisily 40 Sudden movements 41 More sensible 42 Biting insects 43 Hanging unevenly 44 Maintains 47 Bogs 51 Screenplay 52 Bustle 53 Pimply 54 Boorish 58 Utterly exhausted (3,2) 59 Sellout success 61 Chasm 63 Brushes (off) 64 25th anniversary 65 Basic 66 Clenched hands 68 Ordain by law 71 Snow vehicles 72 Tendril 74 Looked at warily

crossword

76 Clump 78 Low-pitched 80 Caress 83 That girl's

Funding boost for eating disorder services

 Abby Beswick

Frontline workers for eating disorder services have welcomed extra Government funding but say it is unlikely to have a significant impact amid concerns of soaring demand and unmet need.

In the Budget 2022 the Government allocated an extra $3.9 million over four years to services supporting patients battling eating disorders. The extra funding is in addition to the $15.5 million spent each year. The money will be used to give more patients access to public treatment, says Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. “This will help increase the capacity of eating disorder services and reinforces our continued focus and commitment to improve mental health and addictions support in Aotearoa.” The extra funding will also be used to upskill staff and improve recruitment, says Verrall. While the additional funding is a step forward, experts warn it’s simply not enough. Demand and wait times for eating disorder services continue to swell, exacerbated by lockdowns during the pandemic. The level of need is leaving providers stretched and families suffering, says New Zealand Eating Disorders Pre Covid-19 the service received about 20 referrals a month and there was a wait time of 2-4 weeks. By August 2020, there were 120 people on their waiting list and patients currently wait up to 16 weeks for assessment. All eating disorders are treatable and recovery is possible at any age, but this relies on patients receiving high quality, personalised care as soon as possible, says Lavender. While on the

Clinic (NZEDC) co-director Kellie Lavender. “It’s horrible. I often talk to families who have been turned away from services because they’re not bad enough or they’re too complex,” and that’s just not OK.”

NZ Eating Disorders Clinic co-director Kellie Lavender  Boutique Lifestyle Photography: Loric Banham

NZEDC is a private outpatient specialist service with centres in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Wellington. Staff treat patients who have a variety of eating disorders including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Patients are referred through their GP, a specialist or self refer. waitlist, some patients become more unwell and by the time they enter treatment they are at crisis level.

Extra funding is a good start but the sector also needs streamlined collaboration between public and private services to improve patient care, says Lavender. She says there should also be greater focus on developing and supporting a specialist workforce. Along with advocacy groups in the sector, Lavender is calling for an external review of the treatment model, which simply isn’t working. “Just giving more money to a system that maybe isn’t being effective runs the risk of wasting those funds,” she says. “If we all got together on this we could improve services for families and people suffering from eating disorders.”