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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Denis Campbell Health policy editor

Mental health units discharging eating disorder patients with ‘dangerously low’ BMIs

A sign for an NHS eating disorder clinic
Eating disorder experts say the ‘horrifying’ revelations about hospital discharges are probably linked to NHS services struggling to meet demand. Photograph: Richard Johnson/Alamy

Patients with eating disorders are being discharged from mental health units even though they are still very thin and have “dangerously low” body mass index levels.

Some hospitals are sending home people whose BMIs are as low as 12.5, despite usual clinical practice in the NHS seeking to wait until a BMI of 18 or 19 has been achieved.

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