Anorexic author refused by hospital for 'not being skinny enough' attacked by vile online trolls

Author Hope Virgo was turned away from a London hospital for not being thin enough
Dan Ross

An author with anorexia who was turned away from a London hospital for “not being skinny enough” has been attacked by online trolls for making her story public.

Hope Virgo, 28, has written a book about her illness and is campaigning to improve treatment by doctors, claiming there is a “postcode lottery” for proper help.

She began a petition after her experience at Springfield University Hospital in Tooting in 2016.

Ms Virgo, from Wandsworth , said she was left upset by the trolling: “They don’t understand it isn’t just a diet and it isn’t people attention-seeking. Attitudes need to change.”

Ms Virgo’s campaign has received support from 60,000 people so far. She wants medical guidelines implemented more widely stating that doctors should not simply use body mass index as a barometer for treatment implemented more widely.

A spokesman for the hospital trust insisted it never diagnosed eating disorders by “BMI alone”.

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