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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Denis Campbell Health policy editor

People in mental health crisis waiting up to three days in A&E in England

The entrance to an A&E department at a hospital in Kent.
A&E staff are so busy dealing with patients seeking help with physical health emergencies that security guards rather than nurses sometimes end up looking after mental health patients. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Thousands of people in a mental health crisis are enduring waits of up to three days in A&E before they get a bed, with conditions “close to torture” for those in such a distressed state.

At one hospital, some patients have become so upset at the delays in being admitted that they have left and tried to kill themselves nearby, leading nurses and the fire brigade to follow in an attempt to stop them.

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