"Children as young as nine detained under the Mental Health Act are spending hours in NHS accident and emergency departments under police control rather than in specialist mental health assessment suites. The detention under the act of children in England and Wales in police cells was banned in 2017 but a lack of suitable alternatives has led to the use of A&E departments."
"It was mainly children aged 16 and over who were able to access adult facilities who were taken to specialist suites under the care of trained mental health staff. The author of the research, Dr Jayne Erlam, of Liverpool John Moores University, will tell the conference: What is clear is that the youngest detained do not gain access to specialist suites and instead are taken to A&E."
Children as young as nine detained under the Mental Health Act are being held for extended periods in NHS accident and emergency departments under police control rather than in specialist mental health assessment suites. Detention of children in police cells was banned in 2017, but a lack of suitable alternatives has driven the use of A&E. Between 2017 and 2021, 187 nine-to-18-year-olds were detained in a single northern constituency, with three-quarters taken to A&E where they could legally wait up to 24 hours. Last-year figures show 83% went to A&E, averaging 18.5 hours under the control of two officers. Younger children rarely access specialist suites; those aged 16 and over more often reach adult facilities. The public nature of A&E and police accompaniment can exacerbate mental distress, while shortfalls in health and social care increase reliance on policing to safeguard people at risk of acute mental distress.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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