'Significant' rise in children being admitted to acute hospital wards for mental health issues, says study

Acute hospital wards are facing "real challenges", as a study showed the number of children being admitted due to mental health concerns has gone up by two-thirds in 10 years.

The research, led by a team from University College London (UCL), looked at data on all admissions for five to 18-year-olds to general acute medical wards in England from 2012 to 2022.

These wards assess and treat patients and are separate from specialist mental health wards.

Annual admissions for children and young people, aged five to 18 with mental health issues, increased by 65% in a decade - from 24,198 in 2012 to 39,925 in 2022, according to the study. More than half (53.4%) were due to self-harm.

The figure of 39,925 patients was among 342,511 people in that age bracket who were admitted to hospital for any cause in 2021/22.

Big rise in admissions for girls

The rise in mental health admissions was particularly high in girls aged 11 to 15, climbing from 9,901 to 19,349 - an increase of 112.8%, said researchers.

"Steep relative increases" among children aged five to 10 and "striking rates of self-harm in females" were also highlighted by the analysis.

And the number of admissions for eating disorders jumped from 478 to 2,938.

People are usually referred to a general acute medical ward from the emergency department, or by their GP or outpatient clinic.

'Increased intensity'

Dr Lee Hudson, of UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital, warned the "increased intensity" in admissions is leading to challenges for patients and staff on acute wards.

He said: "Over the past decade, we've observed a significant rise in mental health admissions among children and young people to acute medical wards.

"Acute medical wards are important places for caring for young people with mental health concerns - especially those with co-existing physical health problems like starvation from an eating disorder."

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Dr Hudson said the "increased intensity" is "presenting real challenges for acute wards, both for patients and their families and the staff supporting them".

He warned they may not be set up with an "appropriate ward environment for this care", and sometimes staff working there "need more training and support with relevant skills".

'Improving care is essential'

And Dr Hudson said the issue "isn't going to go away", as he suggested a focus on "improving care is essential".

Dr Karen Street, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "A 65% increase in mental health admissions further evidences the alarming deterioration in the mental health and wellbeing of our children and young people."

She also highlighted that while the COVID-19 pandemic had a "profound impact" on youngsters, it was not the "sole factor" in the increase in admissions.

(c) Sky News 2025: 'Significant' rise in children being admitted to acute hospital wards for mental healt