Home / Health / NHS System Failure: Under-18s Face Extreme A&E Delays
NHS System Failure: Under-18s Face Extreme A&E Delays
20 May
Summary
- Children wait up to three days for specialist mental health beds.
- Long waits for distressed youth are becoming 'far more normal'.
- Under-18s enduring 12+ hour waits in A&E more than tripled.
Children and young people in England grappling with severe mental health crises are enduring excessively long waits in emergency departments, often spending up to three days before securing a bed in a specialist unit. This situation, described by nurses as "frankly barbaric" and increasingly normalized, pushes vulnerable youth into prolonged distress.
The number of under-18s forced to wait at least 12 hours for mental health unit admission has more than tripled, soaring from 237 in 2019 to 802 by 2025. Some instances saw children waiting three days or more in A&E, with healthcare professionals noting that emergency departments are ill-equipped for mental health crises, potentially exacerbating trauma.
Organizations like the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are labeling these delays as a "catastrophic system-wide failure." They estimate nearly 500,000 under-18s have sought A&E help for mental health issues since 2019. The RCN and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) urge for faster implementation of dedicated mental health emergency units for children.
An NHS England spokesperson acknowledged that busy A&Es are unsuitable for mental health crises, pointing to existing 24/7 support via NHS 111 and expanded mental health services. They also highlighted the rollout of mental health support teams in schools for earlier intervention and prevention.
