An innovative team-based pilot program supporting people impacted by eating disorders is winning praise from clinicians and Federal parliamentarians.
Eating disorders affect about four per cent of people across Victoria, including about 80,000 residents in Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs. Effective treatment needs a combination of medical, mental health and dietary support.
Called Right Care, Right Place: Eating disorder care in my community, the pilot program enables health professionals across all three fields to improve their skills, and share insights and resources to better help people.
Funded by the Australian Government, Right Care Right Place is a collaboration between North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) and the National Eating Disorders Collaboration (NEDC).
It began in 2024 and is set to run until June 2026. Participating clinicians report positive responses.
“As a provider of the Right Care, Right Place pilot, we have seen clear evidence that this model is meeting an urgent need in the community for young people, adults, and affected families,” said Alyce Stead, practice manager at Western Psychological Services in Melton South.
“It allows us to offer early, coordinated care for people experiencing eating disorders, care that is often hard to access in traditional settings and generally, comes too late.”
Clinical psychologist Katherine Hill, from Family Minded psychology services in Sunbury and Sydenham, said the training available through the program was especially valuable.
“It has strengthened our team’s ability to identify early signs of disordered eating in children and adolescents—a need we are increasingly seeing across our caseload,” she said.
“This upskilling has enabled us to provide more responsive support and connect families with targeted interventions earlier in the process. The initiative is expanding the scope of services we can offer within our clinic and holds great potential for improving outcomes for young people in our region.”
Strong support has also come from Sam Rae, Federal Minister for Aged Care and Seniors and local member for the electorate of Hawke, which covers Melton and Sunbury.
“Eating disorders are very serious conditions which require complex and considered support,” he said.
“This program represents a significant step forward. It provides people with much-needed multi-disciplinary care that is affordable and easy to access.
“It represents an important collaboration between the Albanese Government, North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network, the National Eating Disorders Collaboration, general practitioners, mental health professionals, dietitians and the public.”
An important component of the Right Care Right Place pilot is NWMPHN’s dedicated Eating Disorders Service Navigator, Tanya Durrand, who is available five days a week to advise health professionals and people seeking help, linking them with relevant services and resources.
“I support consumers and health care professionals in finding existing eating disorder services that meet each individual’s needs,” she said.
“This includes directly linking people to mental health and dietetic services and guiding them through any barriers along the way. For people seeking help for the first time – and even for some clinicians – it can be a very confusing and challenging landscape to navigate. My job is to make that easier.”
NWMPHN’s chief executive officer, Christopher Carter, said the Right Care Right Place pilot was a good example of how the organisation works to broaden access to health services for people in the north and west.
“We research, collaborate, co-design and fund health services that respond to the needs of the communities we represent,” he said.
“Often those needs are complex and available treatment difficult and expensive to access. Right Care Right Place provides a pathway to better health equity, and better outcomes, for tens of thousands of people.”
To learn more about Right Care, Right Place: Eating disorder care in my community see this webpage.
GPs and others wishing to refer a patient into the program can do so through NWMPHN’s CAREinMIND™ referral and access team. For more details, see this page.
People can self-refer by contacting Medicare Mental Health on 1800 595 212. See NWMPHN’s referral and access webpage here.
