Children as young as six going to A&E in mental health crisis

NHS emergency departments across England have seen a sharp rise in children and teenagers presenting with mental health emergencies, with attendances for self‑harm, eating disorders and severe emotional distress increasing by 36 % between 2019 and 2025. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) analysis, based on Freedom of Information data from NHS England, recorded 75,491 A&E visits by 6‑ to 17‑year‑olds for mental health reasons in 2025, up from 55,525 in 2019, while overall A&E attendances grew only about 8 %. The surge is most pronounced among the youngest cohort, six‑ to nine‑year‑olds, and more than 6,200 children—roughly 8 % of those seen—experienced waits of longer than 12 hours, often after being brought in by families, carers or police. Doctors note that many of these children become aggressive or display challenging behaviour while in crisis, and the lack of appropriate community services forces families to rely on A&E as a last resort.

The escalation reflects a broader failure of community mental‑health provision for young people. RCPCH mental‑health officer Dr Sam Jones highlighted the nationwide shortage of crisis support, stressing that emergency departments were never intended to serve as long‑term holding areas for distressed children. Parents, such as Nicholas, whose autistic 10‑year‑old son has repeatedly threatened self‑harm, describe a broken system where GPs refuse medication, specialist waiting lists are endless, and A&E offers little more than a prolonged, unsettling environment. Charity Mind’s Gemma Byrne warned that the current model, which only offers help when a young person is deemed “unwell enough,” leaves many children in dangerous limbo, and she called for expansion of “young future hubs” that integrate mental‑health, employment and recreational services.

Government officials acknowledge the crisis and promise reforms. A new mental‑health strategy is slated for release later this summer, while the Department of Health and Social Care points to ongoing investments, including mental‑health teams in schools and the creation of more than 150 community hubs situated in venues such as banks and libraries. Dr Mark Buchanan of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine described the situation as children being sent to A&E “by default,” urging that care be shifted to settings designed for their specific needs. The consensus among clinicians, charities and families is that without urgent, coordinated intervention, the reliance on emergency departments for child mental‑health crises will continue to worsen.

⚡ Effects Interpreter