39 Building the system of care for eating disorders National leadership and collaboration Workforce and professional development Primary health capacity building Resource development and information dissemination 39 Building the system of care for eating disorders The National Eating Disorders Collaboration (NEDC) is an initiative of the Australian Government dedicated to developing and implementing a nationally consistent, evidence-based system of care for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. NEDC synthesises lived experience, research evidence, and clinical expertise to build an effective, equitable and accessible stepped system of care for all Australians. In 2020-21, NEDC has continued to grow its membership base to nearly 6000 and to move forward with momentum across its four main areas of activity: National leadership and collaboration, workforce and professional development, primary health capacity building, and resource development and information dissemination. NEDC thanks Butterfly Foundation for administering NEDC on behalf of the Commonwealth Government. National leadership and collaboration NEDC has driven a number of projects of national significance, including: Beginning a new National Strategy for eating disorders, which will guide sector development and policy decision-making over a ten-year period. The National Strategy will support the operationalisation of the system of care across all levels. NEDC will continue developing the National Strategy in 2022. Developing clinical guidelines for the treatment of eating disorders for people with higher weight, with a working group of key professionals with clinical and academic expertise and people with lived experience. Following a comprehensive systematic review completed in 2020, the Guidelines have undergone several rounds of consultation and review and will be completed in FY 2021-22. In partnership with the Australian Institute of Sport, developing a joint position statement on disordered eating in high performance sport, accompanied by a toolkit of resources and dedicated website. The position statement was published in Workforce and professional development In partnership with the Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED), NEDC has made significant progress in the development of a national credentialing system for eating disorder treatment. Credentialing of treatment providers is a key structural change in the sector. This initiative will create a clearer, safer path to treatment for people with eating disorders, and a skilled treatment workforce with expertise based on nationally consistent standards. Eating Disorder Core Skills: eLearning for GPs was launched on 17 June and is free of charge to NEDC members (join here). The course is accredited by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration (GPMHSC), and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM). The training, based on the NEDC core workforce competencies, provides GPs with all the information and skills they need to understand, identify, assess, provide medical treatment, lead the multidisciplinary team, and manage Medicare items. Primary health capacity building NEDC continued to work with Primary Health Networks (PHNs) to ensure improved early identification and intervention in primary health settings. NEDC developed the Eating Disorders Quality Improvement Tool (ED QI) for PHNs - an innovative, purpose-built tool developed with PHN leaders and eating disorder experts. In late 2020, NEDC piloted the ED QI with seven PHNs. Pilot participants described it as user-friendly and well-tailored to the PHN context. The ED QI will be available in late 2021 for all PHNs to implement tailored service plans, respond to eating disorders in primary care and enhance service delivery across the system of care. Resource development and information dissemination NEDC generates and disseminates evidence-based information and national standards for prevention, identification and treatment of eating disorders. A re-branded NEDC website was launched in December 2020 to enhance navigation and useability. Key NEDC clinical resources and factsheets have been updated, and new resources continue to be developed.