According to the Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England, mental health appears to have deteriorated in the past decade, with reports of depression increasing 5.8 per cent in 2012 to 13.2 per cent a decade later in 2022.ⁱ

Since this increase, the need for mental health services has been growing rapidly, leaving the NHS struggling to keep up with demand. Without the right investment and resources, long waits for these services have become normalised. And according to the Darzi report, in April 2024, around 1 million people were waiting for mental health services, with 345,000 people waiting to be seen for the very first time.ⁱⁱ

As a result, this has caused many people experiencing mental health distress to seek out help from our emergency services. In 2024, more than 250,000 people visited A&E due to a mental health crisis, signalling a great need for mental health support. However, due to long wait times, some patients were waiting up to 12 hours to be seen.ⁱⁱⁱ

This is not an ideal solution – not just due to the wait times, but also because traditional A&E settings are often ill-suited to the needs of those in psychological distress.

In light of this, the NHS has now pledged to open a network of mental health A&Es across England, aiming to provide faster, more appropriate care in a more supportive environment.

As Sir Jim Mackey, the chief executive of NHS England, told The Times : ‘Crowded A&Es are not designed to treat people in mental health crisis. We need to do better, which is why we are pioneering a new model of care where patients get the right support in the right setting.

‘As well as relieving pressure on our busy A&Es, mental health crisis assessment centres can speed up access to appropriate care, offering people the help they need much sooner so they can stay out of hospital.’^iv

Although this is great news – we need to think about what this announcement means for mental health practitioners in terms of training, staff and operational efficiency.

This will be a focus of our upcoming panel discussion: Mental health care in emergency departments and urgent care at HPN Mental Health, taking place on 26–27 June 2025. During the session, our panel of leading mental health experts will explore:

• The parity created by separating mental health from physical health emergencies
• Barriers to delivering timely, effective mental health treatment in emergency settings
• Practical strategies to enhance care and outcomes
• Alternatives to help reduce the burden on emergency services

Our panel of experts include:

• Paula Lloyd-Knight, Deputy COO, Black County Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• Donna Cantrell, Associate Director, Acute and Urgent Care at North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare
• Sarah Hall, Head of Programme for Mental Health Urgent & Emergency Care Transformation, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
• Arden Tomison, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Thalamos
• Samantha Wood, Head of Service for Mental Health, Inpatients & Urgent Care at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

Want to take part in the discussion? Join us at HPN Mental Health on 26-27 June to explore the critical role of mental health care in emergency departments.

Join us at Mental Health

Register – HPN Mental Health
Sponsor HPN

References

ⁱ Darzi, Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England, (September, 2024), [Website] accessed 9 June 2025.

ⁱⁱ Darzi, Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England, accessed 9 June 2025.

ⁱⁱⁱ iii E. Hayward, ‘NHS to open network of mental health A&Es across England, The Times, 23 May 2025, [Website], accessed 30 May 2025.

^iv E. Hayward, ‘NHS to open network of mental health A&Es across England, The Times, 23 May 2025, accessed 30 May 2025.