There is not enough support for people with eating disorders, a mother of a sufferer says.
Rebecca Toms said her daughter first developed an eating disorder during the Covid-19 lockdown but it took some time for her to be properly diagnosed.
She said it was a constant back-and-forth with her daughter's GP till she was eventually put on the public system waiting list for treatment.
But her daughter wasn't deemed sick enough, and was kicked off the list, Toms told Breakfast on Monday.
READ MORE: Eating disorders: 'People will die waiting' for help, say advocates
"After that I was just left dealing with this life-threatening illness and not sure where to go, who to turn to, that community wraparound care just hasn't been there."
The extremely high cost of treatment for eating disorders is a significant issue, Toms said.
"We were paying up to $400 a week at one time for her to see a dietitian and a psychologist and eating disorder recovery is a marathon not a sprint.
"I really worry about people that can't afford that private care if you're at the mercy of the public system with the long wait list," she said.
Her comments come after the Government announced $3.9 million to support people facing eating disorders as part of the 2022 Budget.
Some advocates have said the funding will not go far enough to address the issue.
Eating Disorder Association of New Zealand's Nicki Wilson told 1News treatment providers are stretched as they work to address a growing need, while "families and individuals are suffering unacceptably" as a result.
Wait times for accessing treatment services has grown in the past two years, with Voices of Hope co-founder Genevieve Mora, an advocate who has a lived experience with an eating disorder, noting how many are having to wait months to receive treatment.
"Quite frankly, people will die waiting if this does not change," she said.
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