The survey of emergency department clinical and mental health leads revealed that half of respondents reported that under-18s waited between 12 and 24 hours to see a child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) specialist after being admitted to hospital. Clinical standards recommend that people in mental distress should be seen by a mental health professional in the emergency department one hour after being referred.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine, which undertook the survey, says while this standard is possible in many emergency departments for adults “very few CAMH services achieve this”.
There are a range of reasons for this, it says, including a shortage of specialist staff and beds.
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