---
title: "Rising A&E attendances and long waits for children in mental health crisis, analysis shows"
id: "bmj-0-children-as-young-as-6-are-increasingly-attending-a-e-in-mental-health-crisis"
canonical_url: "https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/bmj-0-children-as-young-as-6-are-increasingly-attending-a-e-in-mental-health-crisis"
content_type: "clinical_feed_article"
specialty: "Pediatrics"
source_name: "BMJ"
source_url: "http://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100742.short?rss=1"
published_at: "2026-09-02T11:42:08.000Z"
evidence_level: "Journal Feed"
license: "CC-BY-NC-4.0 / Informational Use"
---
# Rising A&E attendances and long waits for children in mental health crisis, analysis shows
## Provenance & Clinical Metadata
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- **Specialty:** [Pediatrics](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/pediatrics.md)
- **Primary Source:** BMJ
- **Source URL:** [Original Journal Publication](http://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100742.short?rss=1)
- **Published At:** 2026-09-02T11:42:08.000Z
- **Evidence Rating:** Journal Feed
## Executive GIST (TL;DR)
- NHS England data obtained by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (**RCPCH**) show a substantial rise in children attending emergency departments with a recorded **mental health** concern: 75,491 attendances in 2025, a 36% increase since 2019. - The largest proportional increase was among 6–9 year olds (a 62% rise from 3,870 attendances in 2019 to 6,269 in 2025). Other increases included 41% for 9–15 year olds, 28% for 16 year olds, and 19% for 17 year olds. - Prolonged waits in emergency departments have increased: children staying more than 12 hours rose by 217%, from 1,964 in 2019 to 6,235 in 2025. The share of attendances exceeding 12 hours increased from 3.4% (1 in 29) in 2019 to 7.7% (1 in 13) in 2025. - The number of children aged 6–17 who were held in emergency departments for more than 72 hours rose from 55 in 2019 to 338 in 2025. - The RCPCH states that emergency departments were not designed to meet the needs of children with acute mental health problems and that many children end up there because of insufficient community support and difficulties securing onward care or safe discharge arrangements. - RCPCH officers (Ronny Cheung and Sam Jones) described the data as a “wake-up call,” emphasising risk to education, employment, and training if earlier support is not provided, and noting that some children do not require admission but cannot be safely discharged. - The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (Mark Buchanan) said patients arrive by “default” when needed services are unavailable, and long stays often reflect disputes between health, mental health, and social care. - A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson highlighted policy actions: expanding mental health support in schools and colleges and opening more than 150 new mental health facilities, including community centres offering same-day, walk-in support, intended to provide earlier, local help for young people. - The RCPCH is calling on the government to use its forthcoming mental health strategy to address the crisis in children’s mental health, citing rising attendances and worsening waits as evidence of systemic pressure.
## Clinical Analysis & Structured Key Points
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[News & Views](https://www.bmj.com/us/news) 2. Children as young as 6... 3. Children as young as 6 are increasingly attending A&E in mental health crisis, analysis shows News # Children as young as 6 are increasingly attending A&E in mental health crisis, analysis shows BMJ 2026; 394 doi: (Published 02 September 2026) Cite this as: BMJ 2026;394:e100742 * [Article](https://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100742 "Article Tab - Article")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/jnl_bmj_tab_art/node:1127087/1 "Article Tab - Article") * [Related content](https://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100742/related "Article Tab - Related Articles")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/jnl_bmj_tab_related_art/node:1127087/1 "Article Tab - Related Articles") * [Metrics](https://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100742/article-info "Article Tab - Info & Metrics")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/jnl_bmj_tab_info/node:1127087/1 "Article Tab - Info & Metrics") * [Responses](https://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100742/rapid-responses "BMJ Article Related Rapid Responses")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/bmj_related_rapid_responses/node:1127087/1 "BMJ Article Related Rapid Responses") * [Peer review](https://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100742/peer-review "Article Tab - Peer review")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/jnl_bmj_tab_peer_review/node:1127087/1 "Article Tab - Peer review") * [](https://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100742/submit-a-rapid-response "BMJ Rapid Responses Form")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/bmj_rapid_responses_form/node:1127087/1 "BMJ Rapid Responses Form") ![Loading](https://www.bmj.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/panels_ajax_tab/images/loading.gif) 1. Jacqui Wise 1. Kent Increasing numbers of young children are ending up in hospital emergency departments in a mental health crisis because their families or carers don’t know where else to turn, official data have indicated. NHS England data, obtained by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), also showed that waiting times of 12 hours were also on the rise among children aged 6-17 attending emergency departments with a recorded mental health related diagnosis or presenting complaint.[1](https://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100742.short?rss=1#ref-1) Data show that, in 2025, 75 491 children attended a hospital emergency department with a recorded mental health concern—a 36% increase since 2019. The sharpest rise was seen among 6-9 year olds, up by 62% in six years, from 3870 in 2019 to 6269 in 2025. There was a 41% increase in admissions for 9-15 year olds over the same time period, a 28% increase among 16 year olds, and a 19% increase among 17 year olds, the college’s report showed. The RCPCH said that emergency departments were not designed to meet the needs of children experiencing acute mental health problems, but they often end up there because of a lack of support in the community. The college is calling on the government to use its mental health strategy, due to be published later this year, to tackle the crisis in children’s mental health. Ronny Cheung, the RCPCH’s officer for health services, said that the data must be a “wake-up call” for the government. “The growing number of children reaching crisis point with their mental health is deeply alarming, particularly among younger children,” he said. “Without urgent action to provide support earlier, we risk storing up serious problems for the future, including more young people falling out of education, employment, and training, where poor mental health is already a major driver.” The report also indicated that more children were becoming “stuck” in emergency departments because of increasing difficulties in accessing onward care, support, or safe discharge arrangements for children in mental health crisis. There was a 217% increase in children staying more than 12 hours in emergency departments—up from 1964 patients in 2019 to 6235 in 2025. The proportion of children experiencing waits exceeding 12 hours more than doubled between 2019 and 2025, increasing from 1 in 29 attendances (3.4%) in 2019 to 1 in 13 attendances (7.7%) in 2025. Some 338 patients aged 6-17 were stuck in emergency departments for more than 72 hours in 2025—up from 55 patients in 2019. Sam Jones, RCPCH officer for mental health, said, “Behind every one of these figures is a child or young person in distress and a family who didn’t know where else to turn. “Emergency departments are a vital safety net, but they were never designed to be a place where children in mental health crisis wait for days at a time.” She explained that some children who present in mental health crisis do not require hospital admission but cannot be safely discharged. “Families may need additional support, community services may not be immediately available, and suitable placements can be difficult to secure. As a result, children may remain in emergency departments while alternative arrangements are sought.” Commenting on the findings, Mark Buchanan, chair of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s mental health subcommittee, said that patients were ending up in the emergency department by “default” because the services they need were not available or accessible. “Long stays often follow because of disputes between health, mental health, and social care services, which mean the young person at the centre of it all falls through cracks that should not be there.” A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said, “No child should have to reach crisis point before getting the support they need. “That’s why we’re making it easier to access mental health support in schools and colleges and opening more than 150 new mental health facilities, including community centres offering same day, walk-in support—to help young people get help earlier and closer to home.” ## References 1. [↵](https://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100742.short?rss=1#xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text") Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Children in crisis: Mental health pressures in emergency departments. September 2026. ## Log in ### Log in using your username and password [BMA Member Log In](https://bmjverification.bma.org.uk/validate/userdetails?url=https%3A//www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100742%3Frss%3D1%26variant%3Dshort%26sso%3D "Log in here if you are a BMA member.") 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