Children as young as six seeking help for mental health crisis

Children as young as six are seeking help for a mental health crisis, new figures suggest.The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) warned that “more children are reaching crisis point” as figures show a significant rise in the number of children seeking help from A&Es in England.The figures also revealed a three-fold increase in children facing long waits in A&E when they have attended with a mental health concern – including hundreds waiting for more than three days.The RCPCH figures come ahead of a Government-commissioned review into ADHD, autism and mental health services, which is expected to be published imminently.In 2025, 75,491 children and young people aged 6–17 attended emergency departments in England with a recorded mental health concern, up from 55,525 in 2019, according to NHS England figures analysed by the RCPCH.The data indicates a three-fold increase in children facing long waits in A&E (PA)PA WireThis represents a 36% rise in mental health-related A&E attendances among children since 2019.The College warned that the rise has been fastest among the youngest children – with A&E attendances of children with a mental health concern rising from 3,870 in 2019 to 6,269 in 2025 – a faster rate of increase compared to any other age group.The children’s doctors said that this is “particularly worrying given the vulnerable nature of young children’s neurodevelopment and the potential of suffering for those children longer term without early intervention”.Meanwhile the RCPCH figures also show that the number of children and young people staying more than 12 hours in A&E rose from 1,964 in 2019 to 6,235 in 2025.And among these children, some are waiting for more than three days for appropriate mental health support and a safe place to be discharged to.Some 338 were in A&E for more than 72 hours in 2025, up from 55 in 2019.RCPCH warned that A&Es are not designed to meet the needs of children and young people in a mental health crisis.It has called on the Government to use the upcoming Mental Health Strategy to focus on prevention and improved access to early support so fewer children reach crisis point.Dr 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.Read More“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.“Our health system is under mounting pressure.“More children are reaching crisis point, and when they do, they are waiting longer, often far longer, to get the help they need despite the best efforts of paediatricians to care for these children.“This is a national crisis that will only get worse without urgent intervention from Government and NHS leaders.“No child should be spending 12 hours or more in A&E let alone days to weeks while they wait for the right support. The scandal has to end.”(Alamy/PA)Dr Ronny Cheung, RCPCH officer for health services, added: “This must be a wake-up call for Government.“The growing number of children reaching crisis point with their mental health is deeply alarming, particularly among younger children.“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.“Tackling children’s mental health must be at the heart of any plan to improve life chances and opportunity. The Prime Minister and Health Secretary must urgently set out how they plan to address the crisis.”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.“Later this year, our Mental Health Strategy will set out our long-term plans to build a system that helps people earlier and ensures fewer young people end up needing emergency care.”