Community Adult Eating Disorder Service – Patient Information Leaflet

This leaflet gives you useful information before you use our service.

If you have any questions or are unsure about anything, please contact our team on 0191 282 4567.

CAEDS is a specialist eating disorder service based at Ashgrove, St Nicholas Hospital in Gosforth, Newcastle. We work across the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust area.  This means we use a number of different clinical bases to carry out assessments and appointments.

We support you to access treatment you need while continuing with your usual day-to-day life as much as possible – including work, education, family and friends.

We will work with you to support your health and wellbeing throughout your care.

Our team is made up of a range of NHS health professionals who work together to support your care. This includes:

• Clinical Lead
• Clinical Psychologists
• Clinical Support Assistants
• Community Practitioners
• Dietitians
• GP (General Practitioner)
• Occupational Therapists (OTs)
• Peer Supporters
• Psychiatrist
• Psychological Therapists
• Psychology Assistant
• Specialist Nurses
• Team Manager
• Administrators

Each member of the team has a specific role in your care and treatment. We work with you and, where appropriate, your carers to make sure you receive the support you need.

If we recommend involving different professionals, we will always explain who they are, what their role is, and why they are involved, so that you can make informed choices and give consent.

The service is for people aged 18 years and over living in Newcastle, Gateshead, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

Our service offers comprehensive assessment and treatment for people who have:

• a confirmed diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa,
• a suspected diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa, or
• severe or medically complicated Bulimia Nervosa.

Some patients are referred to us from Children and Young People’s Eating Disorder Services.  If you are approaching your 18th birthday and are likely to need ongoing support for your eating difficulties, we can become involved in your care from the age of 17½, with your consent.

This early involvement helps:

• support you and your family during the transition from young people’s services to adult services
• ensure your care continues smoothly
• give you time to get to know the team and how adult services work.

You may benefit from accessing CAEDS if you have an eating disorder that is affecting your physical health, emotional wellbeing, or both, and you have not been able to make positive, long‑lasting changes on your own or with support from other services.

For some patients, receiving support in the community can be more helpful than other types of eating disorder support, such as day services or inpatient care.
Community-based treatment can offer:

• help while staying in your usual surroundings
• the opportunity to continue with work, education, family life and routines
• flexible support tailored to your needs.

The length of time you attend the service, and the number of sessions you have, will depend on your individual needs, your motivation to make positive changes, and your engagement with your treatment plan.

Your treatment plan and your progress will be reviewed regularly with:

• you,
• anyone you would like to be involved in your care (such as a family member or carer), and
• other professionals involved in your care and treatment.

These reviews help make sure your support remains right for you and can be adjusted if your needs change.

Attend an initial assessment
You will be invited to an initial assessment with a member of our team. This helps us get to know you and understand your needs.

Create a care plan
If the team feels our service is the right place for you, you will work with a Community Practitioner or Specialist Nurse, who will be your Care Coordinator to develop a care plan.

Take part in regular care reviews
Your Care Coordinator will invite you, and your carers if you want them involved, to attend regular care reviews.

These reviews help us understand:

• your own views about your progress
• the views of your carers (if involved)
• the views of other professionals supporting you

Most patients find attending care reviews helpful.

Attend planned appointments
You are expected to attend all agreed appointments. Dates and times are usually arranged between you and the team.

If you cannot attend, please let your clinician or the administration team know as soon as possible.

Respect others in group therapies
If you take part in group therapy sessions, we ask that you respect each other’s privacy and maintain confidentiality.

To keep the group safe and supportive, we discourage conversations about things like weight, meal plans, or comparisons of progress.

We ask that all patients and staff treat each other with respect to help create a trusting, safe environment that supports recovery.

The staff in this Trust have the right to work in a safe and supportive environment. Violence against our staff, service users and visitors is a crime. We will take action against anyone who behaves in a violent or aggressive way.

The team will regularly monitor your physical health. How often this happens will be agreed with a medical professional in CAEDS to meet your individual needs.

Your routine physical health checks may include:

• weight
• blood tests
• blood pressure
• temperature
• heart rate
• hand grip strength

In some cases, you may also need other investigations, such as:

• an Electrocardiogram (ECG) – sometimes called a heart trace
• a DEXA scan – which measures bone density
• a physical examination by our medical doctor

You will be expected to be weighed during your physical health appointments.

We ask that you:

• wear light clothing
• remove jewellery and accessories
• remove footwear

This helps ensure accurate and consistent measurements.

We work closely with:

• healthcare staff in the physical health/acute trust
• the Intensive Day Service
• in‑patient wards

This helps make sure you receive safe, coordinated care if your physical health needs change.

We regularly have students on placement in the service. They may be training to become nurses, occupational therapists, dietitians, medical doctors, or psychologists.  As part of their learning, you may be asked if a student can sit in and observe your appointment with your allocated worker.

You will always be asked for your consent before a student attends your appointment.

If you choose not to have a student present, this will not affect your care or treatment in any way.

CAEDS is committed to ongoing audit and research. This helps us  understand:

• which treatments work best for different individuals, and
• whether the treatment we provide is effective.

During your time with CAEDS, you may be asked to complete questionnaires or other psychological measures.

Although completing these is your choice and choosing not to complete them will not affect the treatment you are offered, many patients find that completing them:

• helps track progress over time
• gives insight into their own difficulties
• helps inform decisions about the next steps in their care

These measures are personal to you and support your treatment planning.

During your assessment, a member of the team will talk with you about whether you would like family members or friends to be involved in your care.

Your choices about sharing information will be reviewed regularly throughout your treatment, and you can change your mind at any time.

Under the Data Protection Act (2018), you have the right to request a copy of your notes. If you would like to do this, the team can advise you on how to make a request.

If you require an interpreter, the team will book this for you. If you have any other communication needs, please speak to a member of staff who will be happy to help.

Ashgrove, St Nicholas Hospital is the main base for CAEDS. You can get there by metro or bus services. There is also a car park which charges standard parking fees. Please see the Trust website for further information www.cntw.nhs.uk/locations/.  Contact details for the service are at the end of this leaflet.

Contact Nexus Traveline Tel: 0871 200 22 33  Website: www.traveline.info/

Some benefits may qualify you for help towards your travel costs to and from your appointments. Please speak with a member of staff for more information about this.

If Ashgrove is not a suitable venue for you to attend, we do have access to room space at other venues around the area that may be more accessible for you. To find out other options please discuss this with a member of the team.

If you want to make a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint you can:

• talk to the people directly involved in your care
• ask a member of staff for a feedback form, or complete a form on the Trust website cntw.nhs.uk/contact/complaints/
• telephone the Complaints Department Tel: 0191 245 6672
• email [email protected]

We are always looking at ways to improve services. Your feedback allows us to monitor the quality of our services and act upon issues that you bring to our attention.

You can provide feedback in the following ways:

– the quickest way for you to do this is to complete our short online survey at   www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourvoice enter code AEDCTNTHMB

– complete a Your Voice survey, available on wards, reception areas or from staff

– other options for sharing your feedback and experience www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourfeedback

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

PALS provide confidential advice and support, helping you to sort out any concerns that you may have about any aspect of your or your loved one’s care.

They act independently when handling patient and family concerns, liaising with staff, managers and, where appropriate, relevant organisations, to negotiate prompt solutions. If necessary, they can also refer patients and families to specific local or national-based support agencies. Please see PALS contact details below for further details:

North of Tyne (for North Cumbria and North of Tyne)
Telephone: 0800 032 0202
Email: [email protected]
Post: FREEPOST PALS

South of Tyne (For Sunderland, Gateshead and South Tyneside areas and Lotus Ward, Acklam Road Hospital)
Telephone: 0800 328 4397
Text: 07825 061 035
Email: [email protected]

Post: Patient Advice and Liaison Service, Garden Lodge, Hopewood Park, Ryhope, Sunderland, SR2 0NB

9.00am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday

An answerphone is always available for you to leave a message. A member of the PALS team will aim to return your call as soon as possible.

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Community Adult Eating Disorder Service
Ashgrove
St Nicholas Hospital
Gosforth
Newcastle
NE3 3XT
Tel: 0191 28 24567
Email: [email protected]

Further information about the content, reference sources or production of this leaflet can be obtained from the Patient Information Centre. If you would like to tell us what you think about this leaflet please get in touch.

This information can be made available in a range of formats on request (eg Braille, audio, larger print, easy read, BSL or other languages). Please contact the Patient Information Centre on telephone 0191 246 7288.

Published by the Patient Information Centre
2026 Copyright: Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust

Ref: PIC/945/0126 January 2026 V1

Website: www.cntw.nhs.uk

Telephone: 0191 246 7288

Review date 2029