Surge in children and young people admitted to hospital due to mental health

Experts call for “major reforms” to the mental health support system, including the provision of more mental health staff and additional training for paediatric staff

A study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal has found that over the course of 10 years, mental health admissions to general acute medical wards increased from 24,198 to 39,925 (a 65% increase). General acute medical wards are specialised hospital wards designed to provide rapid assessment, treatment, and care for patients, and are separate to specialised mental health wards.

Increases in admissions were greatest among girls aged 11-15, rising from 9,091 to 19,349 (112.8% increase), and for eating disorders, rising from 478 to 2,938 (514.6% increase).

The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR GOSH BRC).

Researchers were unable to pinpoint the reasons behind the dramatic increase in mental health admissions but are now collating more detailed data, as well as interviewing young people, their families and staff working on wards. They hope this will help them to guide appropriate and effective interventions and improvements.

Senior author, Dr Lee Hudson, UCL (Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital) said the rise is “likely [due to] the bigger background prevalence of mental health problems, and possibly increased severity of individual cases, leading to increased presentations to hospitals that require an emergency admission to a general ward because it is not safe for the patient to go home.”

Dr Hudson added, “Our findings also show that these increases are not solely down to the COVID-19 pandemic, as there have been year on year increases in numbers of admissions since 2012. This is an issue that appears to now be core business for acute wards, and isn’t going to go away, so a focus on improving care is essential.” 

She said that it is “crucial” to understand the factors driving the rise, to better support the mental health of young patients. 

“…the government must urgently fulfil its promise to roll-out early [mental health] support hubs in every community.” 

Olly Parker, Head of External Affairs at mental health charity, YoungMinds, said, “The rising numbers of young people admitted to hospital is deeply worrying and highlights the urgent need for the government to act.” 

He added that “major reforms” to the system are needed, not “tweaks”, including making sure young people can access mental health support much earlier. “To make this happen the government must urgently fulfil its promise to roll-out early support hubs in every community.”

Dr Elaine Lockhart, Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Child and Adolescent Faculty, said it is clear that “far too many young people with mental illness are receiving care in a setting that is not best placed to meet their needs.”

She added, “Where children with mental illness are being treated in paediatric settings, it is crucial that action is taken to provide them with the best care possible, with staff appropriately trained and supported by onsite mental health teams.

“We wholeheartedly support calls to increase the availability of mental health staff, such as liaison psychiatrists, who can help care for young people. We also support calls for paediatric staff to be provided with additional training so that they are better equipped to meet their patient’s needs.”