Few GPs adhere to primary care guidelines and protocols on the management of eating disorders, and many feel dissatisfied with the treatment they are providing, according to a British study presented at the seventh international eating disorders conference, held in London last week.

Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry sent questionnaires to all GPs and university counsellors in south London, Surrey, Sussex, and Kent, who together serve a population of 6.4 million.

Half of the GPs who responded had had at least one new case of an eating disorder during the previous year. Overall, around a quarter of these patients were managed exclusively in primary care. However, individual GPs tended to refer either all or none of the affected patients, a practice that …