Technology and Science01 September, 20263 min read
England Children As Young As Six Seek A&E Help As Mental Health Crisis Rises
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A&E visits by children in mental health crisis rose, with 36% increase 2019–2025. Six-year-olds and older are seeking urgent help amid rising distress.
A&E bottleneck widens
In England, children as young as six are seeking help for a mental health crisis, with Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) figures showing a rise in the number of children seeking help from A&Es. The RCPCH analysis found 75,491 children and young people aged 6–17 attended emergency departments in 2025 with a recorded mental health concern, up from 55,525 in 2019, a 36% rise in mental health-related A&E attendances among children since 2019. The BBC said the number of six to 17-year-olds turning up in significant distress rose by 36% between 2019 and 2025, and that more than 6,200 waited over 12 hours in A&E.
RCPCH warned that A&Es are not designed to meet the needs of children and young people in a mental health crisis, and said the rise has been fastest among the youngest children, with A&E attendances rising from 3,870 in 2019 to 6,269 in 2025. Dr Sam Jones, RCPCH officer for mental health, said, "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."
Calls for earlier support
The BBC reported that doctors said the cases included children and young people brought in by families, carers and police, and that some in emotional crisis become aggressive or have challenging behaviour. Mind’s Gemma Byrne told the BBC, "Making them spend more than 12 hours there is simply unacceptable," and said children were not getting support early enough. The BBC also quoted Dr Mark Buchanan of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine saying children and young people facing a mental health crisis were ending up in A&E by "default".
In parallel, the Department of Health and Social Care said it was 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. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said, "No child should have to reach crisis point before getting the support they need."
Strategy, training, and hubs
The Independent said the RCPCH figures come ahead of a Government-commissioned review into ADHD, autism and mental health services expected to be published imminently, and it urged the Government to use the upcoming Mental Health Strategy to focus on prevention and improved access to early support. The BBC reported that the government is planning to publish a new mental health strategy later in the summer, while a Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said improvements were already being made with investment in mental health teams for schools and more than 150 new mental health hubs in community locations such as banks and libraries. The BBC also said RCPCH officer for mental health Dr Sam Jones pointed to a lack of wider mental health care and, in particular, crisis support available in many parts of the country.
Gemma Byrne told the BBC that expanding the network of young future hubs, which bring together a range of support covering mental health, employment, sports and volunteering, was a crucial step. Claire Evans of Anna Freud said the new mental health strategy must place children at its heart, and told the BBC, "creating the conditions for lifelong positive mental health and accelerating investment in accessible, community-based support."