Recognised as our Most Trusted Specialist Care Provider for Eating Disorders 2023 – Suffolk, Bramacare is a transitional eating disorder service for adults highlighting the difference that specialist care and rehabilitation can make in supporting adults towards recovery.
There are an estimated 1.25 million people in the UK who currently have an eating disorder (ref: Beat, 2022) and sadly, eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia continue to have one of the highest mortality rates in all mental health conditions. Despite this, diagnosis and waiting lists for treatment can take a long time, and many people will be referred to clinical care in a hospital setting once they become medically vulnerable.
Bramacare is one of few specialist care providers offering transitional rehabilitation for adults with eating disorders and disordered eating. Its bespoke approach enables adults to transition towards independent or community living with specialist support, which is especially beneficial for those who have spent many years in a hospital ward.
Laetitia Beaujard-Ramoo, CEO of Bramacare, explains, “For the best chance of recovery, it is vital that those with an eating disorder receive an early diagnosis and specialist support.
“There are many misconceptions which can make it difficult to diagnose an eating disorder, for example both men and women can be affected, and they may have a normal weight with no physical changes. Often people struggle many years before getting the help they need due to the stigma and difficulty in accessing specialist services.
“At Bramacare, we do not just look at a person’s weight or BMI, we look at their patterns and behaviours to determine what level of care would benefit them – from 24/7 nursing care and residential rehabilitation, to transitional living and day care services. It’s important that the level of care is flexible to meet the service user’s changing needs as they progress towards recovery.”
Here, Bramacare is shining a light on what a community eating disorder service can look like, how it benefits those being discharged from hospital, and how vital it is for all adults to be able to access specialist mental health support quickly when they need it.
Specialist Rehabilitation
Bramacare considers there to be four types of specialist eating disorder rehabilitation:
- Nutritional: Establishing and monitoring the nutrition and fluid intake, working towards a well-balanced and nourishing diet.
- Physical: Focusing on the individual’s physical health and weight/BMI, working towards restoration and stabilisation, and rebuilding muscular strength.
- Mental: Supporting adults to build their confidence and lead in their own care, including all kinds of therapeutic intervention from psychoeducation to group therapy.
- Social: Reviewing an individual’s personal life and ways to improve their social situation, including relations with family and friends, community networks, social activities, work, education, and future aspirations.
Bramacare believes that rehabilitation, particularly the difficult transition between hospital and home/community settings, works best when all four of the above areas are addressed together.
Adults working towards recovery need access to specialist care and support to understand the root cause of their eating disorder or disordered eating. This is in order to build therapeutic relationships with eating to enhance their motivation for change, and to remove any barriers for maintaining adequate nutritional health and wellbeing.
Care in a Non-Clinical Setting
One of the standout qualities of specialist residential rehabilitation is the home-from-home environment. Receiving clinical treatment in a comfortable, non-clinical, familiar setting can enable adults to relax and focus on their recovery. There is also the opportunity to build supportive relationships with other service users, which is encouraged at Bramacare through group activities and communal spaces shared by residents.
Laetitia Beaujard-Ramoo says, “When we first established Bramacare in 2017, it was important to us that our residential rehabilitation centre, The White House offered a homely environment for service users. It is their home and we treat it as such. They have their own bedroom to decorate as they wish – which is paramount for those who have been in hospital for many years. They can enjoy our communal leisure room with sofas, TV, library, and games, our arts and crafts room, or our gardens overlooking the local park.
“We also have a spacious communal kitchen where residents can rediscover their independence and learn new cookery skills, as well as enjoy a menu of homemade, nutritious meals created by our excellent chef.
“It’s important for everyone to feel comfortable, in a safe and nurturing environment, to restore their mental and physical health.”
Cohesive and Holistic Approach
Another difference between clinical care in hospital and specialist rehabilitation is the access to a wide range of healthcare professionals and therapists who work cohesively to help the individual take their own steps towards living independently.
Laetitia says, “Our specialist dietician supervises each service user’s nutritional rehabilitation during their stay with us. Meanwhile, our occupational therapist supports service users to build the practical skills they need to transfer when they return home, if appropriate.
“Examples of therapeutic activities and groups that we offer at Bramacare include reflexology, wellbeing and life skills, flexibility, exercise management, anxiety management, and self-esteem. Practical activities include cookery (individual and group), nutrition, meal planning, shopping, and goal setting.
“We work holistically with our service users to create care plans, set goals, and discover hobbies that can aid their recovery. Recently, we’ve introduced equine therapy and pet therapy, where our service users are enjoying the benefits of caring for animals while promoting greater responsibility and awareness of selfcare.”
Effective Medication Management
A key part of specialist rehabilitation is effective management of medications to ensure service users are receiving all that they need to aid their recovery.
Laetitia continues, “Eating disorders can lead to or be a result of other mental health conditions, as well as physical health issues. Many of our service users at Bramacare have had their eating disorder for a long time, so clinical monitoring is very important to keep on track with their rehabilitation.
“We also adopt a Specialist Supportive Clinical Management (SSCM) approach, which combines regular clinical monitoring with a review of target symptoms, psychoeducation, and general support to normalise eating.
“Medication is often provided to help adults with eating disorders to manage their physical health symptoms as well as helping to ease emotions like distress and anxiety. At Bramacare, we work closely with GPs and pharmacists to continuously assess medications for each individual, ensuring that medications are managed safely and reviewed regularly to meet the services users’ changing needs.
Step-Down Service
For adults with eating disorders, the journey towards recovery is not always straightforward and it often requires an agile, responsive care plan to meet their changing needs. A specialist care approach is often flexible for each individual, stepping up the care when required, and stepping down again when progress or goals have been met.
Laetitia says, “It can be a long journey towards recovery but the importance of specialist rehabilitation is to focus on the person, not their eating disorder.”
About Bramacare
Bramacare first opened at The White House in north-Ipswich (Suffolk, England) in 2017, to provide residential and transitional living for adults with eating disorders. The service helps adults who are leaving hospital, some for the first time in many years, to reintegrate with the world and establish a way of living safely with their eating disorder as they work towards recovery. The service also helps to prevent hospitalisation by providing tailored care packages with access to medical monitoring, specialist nursing, therapists, and dieticians.
Bramacare also offers community support and day care activities for local people to help manage their eating disorder or disordered eating.
If you, or someone you know, could be struggling with an eating disorder, please contact your GP in the first instance and use trusted resources from charities like Beat who can guide you towards finding the right help.
For further information, please visit: www.bramacare.co.uk
