Mrs Dent, co-ordinator of the new Southern Support Eating Disorders Service, said delivering the Dunedin-based regional outreach service in the community helped eating disorder sufferers while letting them get on with their lives.
The service is overseen by Ashburn Clinic, which won a DHB contract, although Mrs Dent is keen to distinguish it from the private psychiatric hospital's other services.
The model is part of the Ministry of Health's push towards community-based services for eating disorders.
Mrs Dent said it was similar to that used by mental heath nurses in primary care.
With an emphasis on prevention and early intervention, Mrs Dent educates health providers such as GPs about how to properly assess and refer sufferers, while referring people to counselling or other services when needed.
School groups and educational and fitness facilities would also be targeted.
Mrs Dent, a nurse since the 1970s, working mainly in mental health, said eating disorders were destructive and disruptive and prevented the worst-hit sufferers - who were typically high achievers - from reaching their potential.
Anorexia, in particular, had a tight hold or "loud voice", and its sufferers had the worst outcomes of any psychiatric illness.
Anorexia had a tight window during which people could be cured - usually five years - and problems were often not diagnosed early enough.
"I think that previously diagnosis and early intervention in primary health has presented challenges and probably will continue to do so because of the complex nature of the illness. Early intervention can be a misnomer when someone is already well down the track of starvation."
Awareness of food and body issues was high, driven by years of publicity.
Mrs Dent did not want to promote over-vigilance, and pointed out that while "disordered eating" was an issue for society, it was not something the tightly focused service could address.
Resources were tight, with the service getting $130,000 a year for three years.
"Putting some resource into primary health may assist primary health clinicians to intervene sooner and improve access to referral pathways and continuity of care," Mrs Dent said.
Inpatient eating disorder beds were available in Christchurch, with general emergency or acute services at Dunedin Hospital.
Eating disorders
- The suicide rate for women with an eating disorder is 58 times that of women without an eating disorder.
- Anorexia, while rare, has the highest level of mortality of any psychiatric disorder, due to medical complications and suicide.
- Median age of developing an eating disorder is 17, with half of all eating disorders developed before age 19.
