Meet the Sheffield Eating Disorders Assessment and Treatment Team!

Did you know that there are over 4000 staff members working at Sheffield Children’s who are committed to creating a healthier future for children and young people?  

The Sheffield Eating Disorders Assessment and Treatment Team (SEDATT) have been a key part of this community since 2016, providing holistic, collaborative care for young people up to the age of 16 with an eating disorder. The team runs clinics twice a week, assessing young people that have been referred, along with their parents and/or guardians. For young people diagnosed with an eating disorder, SEDATT offers continuing care to support families throughout their recovery journey towards a healthy future. They also focus on early intervention and prevention of eating disorders through their ‘Brief Intervention’ pathway. 

Nomakhosazana Ndhlovu, team leader, said: “It is a real pleasure to see this team in action on a daily basis. Our team covers a wide range of specialties when it comes to supporting patients with eating disorders, and each case requires different expertise. We always want to make sure that patients and families who visit us receive safe, kind, and outstanding care.” 

How does this team deliver outstanding care? 

Liz, the Consultant Paediatrician within the SEDATT team, said: “The team is able to deliver excellent collaborative care, with mental health, medical and dietetic staff working closely together with allied health professionals throughout the patient’s treatment journey to make sure that patients are able to benefit from a holistic care package. We work closely with colleagues on the medical wards to ensure a seamless transition between inpatient medical care and community mental health care, for those patients who require an admission to hospital.” 

Lina, Speciality Doctor in the team, added: “Things have progressed a lot since I started in the team. We have really moved forward a lot and done a lot of work to bridge the gap between inpatient care and community mental health care.” 

The team also offers training for both colleagues and the wider community. Clinical Nurse Specialist, Emily, who delivers this training, said: “We’ve been able to adapt the way in which we deliver care in many ways. We now offer training to make sure that those who work on the wards and in the community can draw on expertise. This training offers a safe space for colleagues to come and learn, discuss cases and even learn how to look after their own mental health and wellbeing, which is really important in this field.” 

Combining their expertise 

Using their diverse skillsets, the team often combine their expertise to offer each patient a unique recovery pathway. Lesan, a Senior Specialist Dietitian who has worked at Sheffield Children’s for eight years, offers practical nutrition support for patients and families that are receiving care from other SEDATT colleagues. Lesan said: “I’ve developed community meal plans, and outcome measures the team now use as standard, and we can also offer cooking sessions to support patients and families relearn these skills. By the end of their time with us, I really hope that families are able to feel like they have gained some really positive practical skills and knowledge to better support their child in the future.” 

Service Delivery Manager, Joe, possesses a different skillset to Lesan and other members in the team, but has nonetheless become immensely valuable to supporting the delivery of outstanding care during his short time at Sheffield Children’s. Joe said: “I’m in early stages of my role, but my priority is to take away non-clinical duties from the team, allowing them to continue doing what they are excellent at doing. I’ve been looking into what areas I can take on that can free up time and space for SEDATT to deliver their outstanding care to patients and families directly.” 

Offering holistic care 

Many patients and families who are seen by the team might not only be managing an eating disorder, but other mental health conditions too. In this regard, Bella, CBT Therapist, is able to offer weekly sessions to support patients. Bella said: “I often come in towards the end of their treatment if there is something getting in the way of recovery, such as low mood, anxiety, OCD, or another condition. I work with our young people to help remove that barrier so that they can fully engage in the recovery process.”

Senior Mental Health Practitioner, Jack, has referred many young people to Bella, and emphasised the importance of her role in supporting patients and families: “I recently worked with a young person who told me they were struggling to see the point of recovering from their eating disorder because they felt so consumed by their OCD symptoms. Bella was able to work with this young person on their OCD and help them feel more hopeful about their future.” 

Completing the recovery pathway 

The team can often support patients and families for long periods of time, resulting in deep and trusting relationships being formed. Emily (clinical nurse specialist) said: “It can be amazing to watch a patient go through their recovery pathway and see the family’s development firsthand. Building that therapeutic relationship, and seeing a young person begin to enjoy food again can be a wonderful thing to witness.” 

Jack added: “I’m always amazed by the resilience shown by our families, and their ability to keep going. I really enjoy helping families reflect on how far they’ve come and the skills they have gained 

For more information about the SEDATT team, please visit the Sheffield Children’s website.