Children and young people presenting in acute mental health crisis are often not receiving the timely or appropriate care they need. Across the UK, a shortage of acute inpatient mental health beds means many of our children and young people spend extended periods in emergency departments before an inpatient bed becomes available.

Services are reporting both an increase in the number of crises and greater severity, which places significant strain on already stretched teams. These young people frequently require assessment by senior mental health clinicians, yet high demand, workforce pressures and systemic failures mean delays are common.

During these waits, children and young people may be cared for in busy, inappropriate environments that can heighten distress and undermine confidence in the care offered. Insufficient investment in mental health provision, limited community provision and gaps in local authority placements mean patients are being placed in general paediatric wards even when this is not clinically suitable or safe (NHS England, 2022). Clinical staff in these settings may not have the specialist training required, contributing to their own uncertainty, stress, and in some cases moral injury.

Improving crisis services is essential to ensure safe, compassionate care for all children and young people.

References

Care Quality Commission (2018) Are we listening? A review of children and young people’s mental health service. Available at: cqc.org.uk/publications/themed-work/are-we-listening-review-children-young-peoples-mental-health-services (Accessed 30 March 2026).

Health Services Safety Investigations Board (2023) Keeping children and young people with mental health needs safe: the design of the paediatric ward. Available at: hssib.org.uk/patient-safety-investigations/keeping-children-and-young-people-with-mental-health-needs-safe-the-design-of-the-paediatric-ward/interim-report/ (Accessed 30 March 2026).

NHS England (2022) Supporting children and young people (CYP) with mental health needs in acute paediatric settings: A framework for systems. Available at: england.nhs.uk/long-read/supporting-children-and-young-people-with-mental-health-needs-in-acute-paediatric-settings-framework-for-systems/ (Accessed 30 March 2026).