A woman who was diagnosed with anorexia at 19 had to travel as far away as Glasgow to receive intensive treatment.

Molly Leonard from Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan, is now 26 and in recovery but believes she would not “have struggled for so long” if adequate treatment was available in her community.

“You’re just stripped away from everything. It’s so hard when you’re so far away from anything normal, to suddenly being in a strange place where you don’t have any of your belongings, and sometimes you just need your mum,” Molly said.

The Welsh government said it was looking into creating an all-Wales eating disorder unit and would consider alternatives to admission, such as intensive day treatment.

Molly was first diagnosed with anorexia when she was 19 and away at university but had been struggling with the illness since she was 15.

She said if there were better services available in Wales, she could have received an earlier diagnosis and treatment.

“I had to be at such a point that it got so bad that I was actually referred,” Molly said.

While receiving intensive treatment, she was referred to specialist hospitals right across the UK, including Bristol and Glasgow, 400 miles (644km) away from her south Wales home.

“The last time I was taken to Bristol, and it’s always a shock, you don’t know anyone, your parents can’t go with you, you’re taken in secure transport, it’s all a bit scary,” she said.

“When you get to these hospitals, everything gets taken off you, which is understandable for safety, but you’re just stripped away of everything.”

In its latest report into intensive eating disorder services in Wales, eating disorder charity Beat found only one health board in Wales provides the recommended level of specialist care.

The report highlights – due to the lack of provision in Wales – 26 adults were referred and admitted to units outside Wales in 2022/2023. This cost the NHS £2.5m.

The charity is calling for intensive day treatment centres to be set up in Wales, saying it would be less expensive for the NHS and can be used to lessen the frequency of inpatient admissions.

Intensive day treatment centres are being used across England, but there are currently none available in Wales.

The charity added patients who receive intensive day treatments often had a better rate of recovery, allowing patients to continue living at home and maintain contact with family and friends.

Molly believes she may have had a better experience if she was able to access an intensive day treatment unit in her community.

“I could have really done with a support system where I’m based, to have family and friends, I don’t think I would have struggled for so long.

“When you go so far away, you’re in a bubble, and it doesn’t feel real, you don’t feel like yourself, so to get back to any sort of normality is really difficult.”

Since leaving hospital, Molly has set up her own craft business to help others who are receiving treatment, and won a Pride of Britain award for her work last year.

“For so long, it was just me and my eating disorder,” she said.

“But there are things you can do to reach out, and I think it was just the right time for me, and I reached out to The King’s Trust, and their support to gain motivation to change was just incredible.”

Jo Whitfield, the national lead for beat in Wales, described the intensive treatment available in Wales as “patchy” and is calling for more investment from the Welsh government.

“It’s not equitable. We need equitable access to intensive treatment for young people right across Wales,” Ms Whitfield said.

She said an eight-bed eating disorder unit for women had been set up in south Wales, but it was “nowhere near enough”.

“We recognise it does take time, but it isn’t enough. We are calling for specific investment at a national level for eating disorder day centres, so a network of those centres can be set up across Wales,” she said.

Prof Hannah Sherbersky is a family therapist and has worked in day centres in England with patients receiving intensive day treatment.

“We know that families are the best resource to help young people get better, we often use the phrase ‘the family is the medicine,'” she said.

“Intensive day treatments will include family therapy, individual therapy and support, and parents are coached in helping the young person to recover.”

Prof Sherbersky added recent research showed “recovery rates can be exceptional” when working intensively with young people and their families in day centres.

“If someone’s placed many hundreds of miles away, they’re really disconnected, not just from their families and communities, but also from their existing mental health support network,” she said.

The Welsh government said it has been developing a first-onset intervention treatment model for all health boards.

“This will focus on emerging and early-stage illness with the aim of preventing the need for inpatient and intensive day treatment care,” it said.

It added: “In addition, work is continuing on the feasibility study on an all-Wales eating disorder unit and will consider the alternatives to admission, such as intensive day treatment.

“We know that intensive community and day treatments are only one option and our health boards will continue to consider all options available to ensure that all those who require treatment receive it.”