Royal Free opens its doors to the BBC
Charles is a patient at te Royal Free CAMHS - Credit: Archant
A documentary about The Royal Free Hospital’s eating disorder clinic and school has been made to highlight adolescent mental health problems.
BBC Radio One’s Newsbeat programme spent time with patients in the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS), specifically look at issues surrounding young people with eating disorders.
The short documentary, “Anorexia: A boy in a girl’s world”, focuses on the presumption that anorexia and bulimia are “female-only” illnesses and questions whether there is enough support out there for young males with eating disorders.
It follows 17-year-old Charles, who was the only boy during his stay at the clinic.
He returns to his school friends and discusses the reality of being a boy with an eating disorder.
It also highlights that many young boys, like Charles, do not realise they have an eating disorder until they become gravely unwell because it is not pre-empted with young men.
The documentary is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
