Nuffield Trust: The changing terrain of mental health in A&E: specialised care or the same old bottlenecks? (28 January 2026)

Summary

The task of managing mental health demand in A&E has attracted more attention in recent years, with the 10 Year Health Plan for England committed to investing up to £120 million to expand specialist mental health crisis centres, co-located with typical emergency departments, over the next decade. In this blog, Bea Taylor takes a closer look at the mental health care that’s currently provided in A&Es, and discusses the challenges that new specialist services will need to overcome.