anorexia - forced treatment??

columbo_addict

hi - i'm sorry if posted in wrong thread but i'm in desperate need of answers and can't think of who to ask..........

a friend of mine suffered from anorexia when she was 21 - her gp knows about her 'medical history' etc.

BUT - now she is 31 (still very very thin) - she recently fell and wanted to check if her leg was ok - so she went to a&e where the doc said she was underweight/malnourished, question:-

** Can the a&e doc ring mental health authorities/her GP and 'FORCE' any kind of treatment etc??? (ie send to psychiatrist/section her etc???) can she be forced to seek treatment??/detained??


I need to put her mind at rest, thanks for any clarityxx

bestpud

Does she suffer from any other mental disorders/illnesses?

As I understand it, they could force admission to hospital and/or treatment, but only if they felt she was unable to fully comprehend the consequences of her actions ad/or he life was at risk.

Has she actually been to A&E, or is she thinking of going?

pink_princess

Do you know what her BMI is ,force is only used when its a near death issue and normally with next of kin consent.
Its an awful illness and one that kills.
Do you believe she is suffering again.
I fought it for a lot of years .Twice forced into hospital for feeding,thats the worst way ever to gain weight.(been well for over 4 years now )

annie_d

Next of kin do not have a legal say.

She could be sectioned under the MHA if a health professional felt she was in danger.

pink_princess

annie_d wrote: »

Next of kin do not have a legal say.

She could be sectioned under the MHA if a health professional felt she was in danger.

Your correct not a legal say,but when they push for it is when it tends to happen.In my experience.(can t say generally of course)

MaximumImpact

** Can the a&e doc ring mental health authorities/her GP and 'FORCE' any kind of treatment etc??? (ie send to psychiatrist/section her etc???) can she be forced to seek treatment??/detained??

In a word, Yes.

IME, they do not like to ''force'' treatment and will do their best to enourage a person to accept help.

Personally, if it was my friend I would be encouraging her to seek help and support IF she is falling back into Anorexia again.

IF she is just naturally very thin and is eating properly then she has nothing to worry about. But if she is still anorexic and hiding it, then she needs help or you may not have a friend for much longer.

Lilith1980

I think she could be sectioned against her will if she was a danger to herself which may be the case if she is seriously underweight.

At the end of the day only your friend can decide whether she wants help, I used to suffer from anorexia and it was only until I decided that enough was enough that I started to push for help.

On the other side, if she is dangerously underweight then treatment might be something that saves her life so I guess in that case someone else may have to make the decision for her.

Good luck, its good she has a friend like you looking out for her.