Thousands waiting 24hrs in A&E with mental illness

One in 10 mental health patients who attended A&E in England last month stayed for more than 24 hours – and this figure rose to more than one in three in some departments, new data suggests.

NHSE labelled the data as “experimental”, because no quality checks were performed after it was received. However, they are the first official figures on the size of this long-standing problem.

In total, 173 acute hospital sites with a major type 1 or specialist type 2 A&E recorded attendances of mental health patients, and 118 of these recorded stays of 24 hours.

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Source: Health Service Journal, 14 November 2025