A SPECIALIST eating-disorder dietitian is being recruited for Children’s Services in what a Jersey mother has called a “hugely positive and much-needed step forward” – after she spent 15 years trying to secure a diagnosis for her daughter.
The new full-time post, which comes with a salary ranging between £68,437.82 to £76,236.77, will sit within the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service’s eating-disorder and specialist multidisciplinary teams and will provide assessments, care planning, intervention and family support.
The role will focus on children and young people with eating disorders, including ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) as well as wider mental-health-related nutritional needs.
It comes after the JEP earlier this year revealed Penny Chapman’s call for urgent changes to the way in which the Island supports people with ARFID.
It is a recognised eating disorder marked by extreme anxiety around food, overwhelming sensory sensitivity or fear of choking or vomiting.
Her daughter, Lily, who has autism, was diagnosed with the condition in 2020 following a private consultation in the UK.
This came after Ms Chapman spent 15 years seeking answers for Lily, who had avoided eating since infancy and could tolerate only a handful of brand-specific foods.
She described years of distress and repeated misunderstandings by professionals caused by a lack of awareness – and has urged the government to create a clear pathway for diagnosis and treatment, to train professionals and to provide long-term family support.
“We do not have a pathway in Jersey, and we do not have the trained staff in Jersey to manage ARFID,” she told the JEP in June.
Responding to the recruitment of a specialist dietitian, Ms Chapman said she was “genuinely delighted” by the news – calling it “a hugely positive and much-needed step forward for children and young people with eating disorders, including ARFID”.
But she stressed that more needed to be done to close the gaps that families continue to face.
“We urgently need robust, trauma-informed ARFID training across education and social care settings. It is not about schools or social workers diagnosing, but about being able to recognise early signs, stay curious, and avoid assumptions such as labelling children as ‘picky eaters’,” she said.
“In social care in particular, a child with a very restricted diet, reliance on processed foods, or eating in front of the television can raise concerns if ARFID is not understood. With the right training, professionals can ask the right questions and put the right support in place.
“We also need to ensure that meaningful support continues for young people beyond 18, and that adults with ARFID are not left without services.
“I very much look forward to working collaboratively with the government as this important and long-overdue work progresses.”
Earlier this year, the Health Department confirmed that a review of the eating-disorder pathway was underway, and that both a child and adult ARFID pathway would be considered as part of this work.
Both the Health and Children, Young People Education and Skills Departments have been contacted for comment.
