A TEENAGE girl recovering from anorexia says more needs to be done in Essex to help youngsters with eating disorders.

Francesca Hicks was diagnosed in June last year, aged 14.

Her parents, Lesley and Kevin, desperately tried to get her help and after speaking to their local clinical commissioning group she was referred to the Maudsley Hospital, in South London, for intensive treatment.

Francesca, now 15, faces a four-hour round trip up to four times a week to access the care she needs. She said: “It’s brilliant there and has been really helpful. I’ve met some amazing people and seen what this illness takes away from people.

“I was quite depressed at the time and just felt alone and sad to begin with. I believed I was overweight and thought how could I be anorexic?

“I hated the Maudsley at first and just wanted to leave. It took a couple of weeks to settle in and I’ve learnt a lot there. We need this sort of treatment in Essex.”

Mum Lesley, a nurse, said there was not enough treatment in Essex for young people with eating disorders.

Mrs Hicks, 45, of Castle Road, Hadleigh said: “I realised Francesca just wasn’t herself.

I’m a nurse and looked for the signs. She was tired and really unhappy. It went from there.

“I took her to the GP and it all came out. We had to really look to find help. There’s no help in Essex. It was awful, very hard.

“The hospital had to go to the central clinical commissioning group to get funding for her as she was so unwell.”

The family, backed by Mr Hicks’s former employer, the Rendezvous casino in Southend, have held fundraisers and charity gala dinners to raise awareness of the work the Maudsley does and to help others.

Mrs Hicks said: “The Maudsley has been incredible, but it has not been easy. The drive there takes two hours and Francesca has had to be schooled there. We are fortunate.

We can pay for the petrol and keep her on the meal plan.

“If families can’t afford the petrol it could be devastating. If people are not treated correctly, it’s dangerous. We’ve written to politicians asking them to help.

‘We’d like some of the funds raised to be used as a discretionary payment to somebody who hasn’t got the money to get their child to the hospital easily, or to stick to the meal plan for 10-12 weeks. We want to take that pressure off of them when they’re trying to cope with the diagnosis and support their child and things are really difficult already.”

FRANCESCA was put on an inpatient feeding programme at the Maudsley.

The aim is to get the patient to a healthy weight by applying a strict eating regime and slowly reducing time spent at the hospital, with the goal of reintegrating them back into normal life.

Other elements include the intensive treatment programme step down, which incorporates gradual reintegration back into school, and multi-family therapy, which involves families attending group sessions to share experiences.

Francesca hopes to return to Thundersley’s King John School shortly.

Mrs Hicks said: “The illness needs a multi-dynamic approach. We have to be with Francesca to look after her and make sure she sticks to the meal plan.

We want other people to become aware and talk about it more.

“It’s an illness that takes over people’s lives and can kill. Francesca is 15 and without the right care it can ruin your life.

“This care should be accessed by everyone. We should have this in Essex.

If I had the money, I would set up a place for it myself, There is a desperate need.”

THE eating disorder service in Essex, run by the South Essex Partnership Trust, requires a referral from a GP or health professional.

Adults aged 18 and over can use the service, which is headed by a clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioners and administrative support.

More information about the service is available at www.

sept.nhs.uk/our-services/essex/ south-essex-mental-healthservices/ adults/eating-disordersservice.