Emergency hospital admissions for children and teenagers with mental health crises have risen by nearly two-thirds in the past decade, driven largely by an increase in cases of self-harm and eating disorders among teenage girls, according to research reported by The Times.
A study conducted by University College London (UCL) and published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health revealed a 65% increase in the number of 5- to 18-year-olds admitted to acute medical wards with mental health issues between 2012 and 2022. Admissions rose from 24,198 to 39,925 annually, with girls aged 11 to 15 experiencing the most significant increases.
Of particular concern was a sixfold surge in hospitalizations for eating disorders, rising from 478 cases in 2013 to 2,938 in 2022. Self-harm accounted for half of all admissions, while mental health-related hospitalizations for 11- to 15-year-old girls more than doubled during the decade.
Experts noted that the alarming trend predated the COVID-19 pandemic, with mental health challenges linked to social media, smartphones, and limited access to early intervention services. Dr. Lee Hudson, who led the study, emphasized the need for better training and facilities on general medical wards, which traditionally handle physical health problems.
Dr. Karen Street from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health pointed out that worsening mental health trends were already evident in 2012. She stressed that while the pandemic intensified these challenges, it was not the sole cause.
Bernadka Dubicka, a child psychiatry professor at the University of York, urged urgent investment in prevention strategies, including addressing child poverty and improving early mental health care. She highlighted the role of harmful social media content in exacerbating mental health crises and called for stricter regulation by Ofcom and updated online safety legislation.
Many young patients admitted to hospitals faced delays in accessing community-based mental health care. Tom Quinn, director of the eating disorder charity Beat, described the figures as “alarming but sadly not surprising,” citing underfunded NHS services. He called for enhanced training for frontline hospital staff and increased funding for community-based eating disorder services to ensure smoother transitions from hospital to specialized care.
The study highlights the growing strain on acute hospital wards, which are increasingly managing cases traditionally handled by specialized mental health units. Total hospital admissions for young people rose by just 10% over the same period, underscoring the disproportionate rise in mental health-related cases.
The findings underscore the need for systemic reforms to address the mental health crisis among children and teenagers. As Quinn noted, “Giving children the earliest possible access to treatment is crucial…but with the NHS so desperately underfunded, it can’t begin to provide this level of care without urgent change.”
This sharp rise in mental health-related admissions among young people signals an urgent need for coordinated interventions spanning healthcare, regulation, and social support systems to address the root causes of the crisis.
