Urgent referrals of children in mental health crisis in England rise 13% in year

Many children requiring emergency care have been stuck on NHS waiting lists for months or even years. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

The number of children referred to emergency mental healthcare in England has risen by 10% in a year, with lengthy waiting lists for regular NHS care pushing more to crisis point.

There were 34,793 emergency, very urgent or urgent referrals to child and adolescent mental health services crisis teams between April and October 2024, analysis of official data by the mental health charity YoungMinds found. That compared with 31,749 in the same six-month period in 2023.