The incident, which came to light in April 2026, involved a child in council-arranged care whose placement had broken down. Because no suitable specialist care or accommodation could be found by the local authority, the child remained in a room in the emergency department—a setting described by hospital leaders as a “place of last resort”
Andythrax on
I can believe this. There are loads of kids in really fragile placements and they too often end up in hospital.
They often have a history of a long stay in the wards, disruption to the physical medical care happening there and a massive staff cost to the Trust.
You can understand why management don’t want them admitting.
They stay in a&e where there’s no care for them. Social care can’t place them.
Playful_Trouble2102 on
I absolutely hate the way that headline is phrased as if the kids are little brats who can’t behave rather than kids with intense mental issues who have been utterly failed by the system.Â
JackStrawWitchita on
“Children with significant mental health needs may require admission to specialist child and adolescent mental health units, but beds are often scarce and far from home.
When placements collapse, councils are responsible for finding alternatives but shortages of suitable provision mean options can be limited.
A recent paper from the North East London Integrated Care Board warned that emergency departments are increasingly used as a “last resort” for children whose residential placements have failed.
The report said many of those arriving in A&E had complex mental health needs, neurodevelopmental conditions, or challenging behaviour.”
wordshavenomeanings on
There is a huge disparity in the need for tier 4 beds and those that are available.
Its yet another thing on the list of consequences of austerity that went below the radar.
811545b2-4ff7-4041 on
This is not a failure of A&E – this is the wider conclusion of an underfunded care system
Mjukplister on
Horrible headline . Mentally ill children (again) getting no care .
One_Complex6429 on
How did we ever get to this dire situation in 21c Britain?
8 commenti
The incident, which came to light in April 2026, involved a child in council-arranged care whose placement had broken down. Because no suitable specialist care or accommodation could be found by the local authority, the child remained in a room in the emergency department—a setting described by hospital leaders as a “place of last resort”
I can believe this. There are loads of kids in really fragile placements and they too often end up in hospital.
They often have a history of a long stay in the wards, disruption to the physical medical care happening there and a massive staff cost to the Trust.
You can understand why management don’t want them admitting.
They stay in a&e where there’s no care for them. Social care can’t place them.
I absolutely hate the way that headline is phrased as if the kids are little brats who can’t behave rather than kids with intense mental issues who have been utterly failed by the system.Â
“Children with significant mental health needs may require admission to specialist child and adolescent mental health units, but beds are often scarce and far from home.
When placements collapse, councils are responsible for finding alternatives but shortages of suitable provision mean options can be limited.
A recent paper from the North East London Integrated Care Board warned that emergency departments are increasingly used as a “last resort” for children whose residential placements have failed.
The report said many of those arriving in A&E had complex mental health needs, neurodevelopmental conditions, or challenging behaviour.”
There is a huge disparity in the need for tier 4 beds and those that are available.
Its yet another thing on the list of consequences of austerity that went below the radar.
This is not a failure of A&E – this is the wider conclusion of an underfunded care system
Horrible headline . Mentally ill children (again) getting no care .
How did we ever get to this dire situation in 21c Britain?