In this weeks episode, Han is joined by Hope Virgo, Sharon White OBE and Suzanne Samaka. Hope Virgo is an award-winning mental health campaigner who has been involved in several campaigns and projects to improve patients' support for eating disorders (EDs). Sharon is the co-chair of the school nurses international, and the CEO of the School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA), where she is a passionate advocate for children, young people, and their families. Suzanne Samaka is a mental health campaigner and the founder of the Honesty About Editing Campaign which supports youth mental health against the challenges of low self-esteem and negative body image caused by edited content on social media.

On 17th October, MPs and campaigners will come together to launch the first ever eating disorder manifesto and a toolkit for school nurses empowering them to have the right conversations. EDs are not new illnesses, but they have risen increasingly since the pandemic and delays have led to chronic long-term illness and loss of life. Campaigners have acknowledged we are no longer hiding behind the pandemic and ensure no one is dying from an ED in 2022.

This campaign is working to remove the stigma, shame, guilt, and misunderstanding that surrounds these illnesses, ensuring timely access to specialist support is provided to everyone, and to provide adequate funding to meet the demand required of ED services. everybody should have timely access to specialist services.

The School Nursing Toolkit named "eating disorders can affect anybody" has been produced to support children, young people, and their families through the provision of the latest evidence, research, and user-informed best practice guidance. This will allow school nurses to work with families, schools, and peers to support mental health in and out of education.

In this weeks episode, we discuss:

To find out more about the campaign, toolkit, and podcast guests, visit: