Purpose built Wimpole Street clinic to inspire new Orri clinics around the UK
An award-winning eating disorder specialist treatment provider based in Wimpole Street is set to expand its in-person day care and outpatient services to up to five further treatment hubs across the UK, as research shows improved recovery outcomes for its hybrid approach to treatment encompassing digital and in-person support.
Orri – an eating disorder specialist service focused on bespoke, trauma-informed treatment – has seen over 1,000 outpatient and day care patients since it opened its first centre in the Harley Street Health District in 2023. They have since expanded into online support for both private and NHS patients.
Nearly eight in ten patients (78%) using its services achieve recovery compared to just a third of patients being treated for eating disorders via different treatment routes in the NHS, according to Orri, which was crowned the best provider of mental health services in the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards 2025.
The provider said its new hubs, which it hopes to start opening from next year, will be based on its unique Wimpole Street clinic model. The clinic offers all services, from psychotherapy to dietic support, in one place, tailored to each patient’s needs while ensuring its physical clinic environment – where the most complex cases will be seen – does not inadvertently trigger a trauma response.
“We’re committed to creating environments that feel predictable and respectful, fostering a culture where individuals don’t feel judged,” said Orri founder and chief executive Kerrie Jones.
“It’s important to move away from coercive clinical practices and the outdated ‘carrot and stick’ approach, which can infantilise people living with eating disorders.
Instead, we focus on collaborative processes, especially around food, ensuring that any opposition or tension is met with consensual, therapeutic interventions. This includes rethinking how we approach medical monitoring and weighing, always recognising their role as therapeutic rather than punitive measures,” she added.
According to analysis commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) the number of UK hospital admissions jumped by 84% in the five years between 2015/16 and 2020/21, with latest estimates based on the same data suggesting there are 725,000 people with an eating disorder in the country.
Atypical eating disorders are the most common type, followed by bulimia nervosa and then anorexia nervosa, according to the same analysis which also shows that adolescents and young adults are at the highest risk of onset.
Ms Jones said that, tragically, she expects demand to increase for eating disorder services in the short term at least due to cultural pressures such as increasing use of weight loss drugs, thin becoming ‘fashionable’ again and fact that “we’re living in quite traumatised times”.
“Young people are increasingly exposed to worrying content online promoting unrealistic and unhealthy weight loss which, coupled with a lack of regulation of weight loss drugs, has led to rapid and dangerous weight loss for many suffering from eating disorders,” she said.
“A significant part of our work is focused on destigmatising eating disorders and bringing greater compassion to those affected, as too often, there’s a lack of understanding for people who are unwell, especially when it comes to mental health – and this is particularly true for eating disorders” she added.
Ms Jones also said that it’s “crucial” to recognise that, while anorexia nervosa is a serious illness, there are many other forms of eating disorder that are more common and present differently.
“An over-focus on anorexia, especially in media coverage, creates a narrow and often misleading image – typically depicting someone who looks extremely thin – which doesn’t reflect the reality for most people living with an eating disorder,” she says, adding “we need to humanise the experience and broaden our understanding”.
Managing Director Becky Garnett-Buchma, who joined the organisation in May, told the Digest that the proportion of Orri patients accessing its services online is set to outpace in-person treatment demand in 2026, as evidence suggests that virtual day care is as effective in the treatment of anorexia nervosa as in person day care.
She said the growth strategy for Orri – named after safe haven shelters for shepherds and their flocks in the Pyrenees – is underpinned by a passion to increase awareness and, subsequently, recovery.
“We are committed to continually promoting the work we do here so we can help even more people,” she said.
Our goal is to reach as many individuals as possible, and when you compare recovery rates across different services, it’s clear what we’re doing is making a substantial difference in the sector.
Importantly, we can also demonstrate that we reduce the risk of inpatient admission by 40% – meaning that, at any given time, around four in ten of our clients might otherwise be in hospital care.
In this way, we’re not only supporting individuals directly but also alleviating pressure on the wider healthcare system,” she added.
