Growing financial strain on the NHS due to longer stays in hospital

Eating disorders and self-harm most common reasons for emergency admissions

The total cost of emergency admissions for mental health among children and young people in England rose from £22.5 million in 2012/13 to £87.3 million in 2021/22, finds research published online in the journal BMJ Open.

There is growing concern about the rise in mental health disorders among children and young people. In England, one in five children and young people aged 8 to 25 years had a probable mental disorder in 2023, an increase from one in nine in 2017, according to figures from NHS Digital.

In England, between 2012 and 2022, there was a 65% increase in children and young people needing emergency admission to acute medical wards due to mental health concerns, the researchers had previously reported. However, until now, the economic implications of this rise in admissions was poorly understood.

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