A significant increase in urgent mental health cases among children as young as six has overwhelmed emergency departments across England, exposing critical gaps in community support and early intervention services.
Children as young as six are increasingly arriving at accident and emergency departments in England in mental health crisis, according to a new analysis that doctors say exposes deep gaps in community support. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said attendances by six to 17-year-olds rose by 36% between 2019 and 2025, with the steepest increase among children aged six to nine.
The college said there were 75,491 A&E attendances for mental health concerns in 2025, up from 55,525 in 2019. It added that the rise far outpaced the overall increase in A&E use over the same period. More than 6,200 children and young people, about 8% of the total, waited longer than 12 hours once they reached A&E.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said emergency departments were acting as a last resort because specialist help was often unavailable locally. Dr Sam Jones, the college’s mental health lead, said the figures reflected a wider failure to provide timely crisis care, while the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said young people were ending up in A&E by default because there were too few appropriate alternatives. The mental health charity Mind said the system was pushing families to seek help only when problems had become severe, and called for more early intervention and a wider network of youth hubs.
The findings add to growing concern about prolonged waits and unsuitable conditions for children in distress. The Guardian reported in May that some young patients had spent up to three days in A&E before being admitted to specialist mental health beds, prompting criticism from nursing leaders. The Department of Health and Social Care said it was investing in school mental health teams and more than 150 community hubs, and said a new mental health strategy would be set out later in the summer.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
