Going to hospital or A&E for mental health treatment

As much as possible, doctors try and treat your mental health outside of hospital. But you might need to go to hospital if you can't keep yourself or others safe. Or if you need specific treatments.

Can I go to A&E for my mental health?

You can go to an accident and emergency department (A&E) for help in a mental health emergency. It might also be called a ‘mental health crisis’.

A mental health emergency could be a situation where you:

• Have attempted suicide.
• Have hurt yourself very badly. Even if it’s not a suicide attempt. For example, bleeding a lot from self-harm.
• Feel you can’t keep yourself safe.
• Feel you can’t keep other people safe. For example, you feel you might hurt someone. Or feel you can’t look after your children.
• Have become seriously unwell. For example, fainting or having heart problems. This could be caused by medication or be a symptom of your mental health problem. 

You shouldn’t drive yourself to A&E. You can ask someone to take you. Or call 999 for an ambulance.

People who get to A&E in an ambulance don’t necessarily get seen faster. How fast you’re seen depends on how seriously you need help.

Urgent treatment centres

If you need urgent help but it isn’t life threatening, an urgent treatment centre can help.  

They can do things like give you stitches and help with mental health problems.

Some urgent treatment centres are in hospitals. Some are in different parts of your community.

The NHS has information on when to go to an urgent treatment centre.

I began to investigate ways I could end my life… I was honest about these feelings to my therapist, who advised I contacted my GP. In turn, my GP suggested I attend A&E to be assessed by liaison psychiatry for further support.

What will happen when I go to A&E?

When you get to A&E you’ll need to register. There will normally be a reception desk for you to do this. The receptionist will ask you for basic information. Like your name and the reason you’ve come to A&E.

You will then need to wait for a doctor or nurse to do an assessment. This is sometimes called ‘triage’. Your assessment might be done by someone from the liaison psychiatry team in the hospital.

In the assessment they’ll talk to you about how you’re feeling. It might include questions about your physical health as well as your mental health. They might ask about the support you have in your life and whether you feel safe at home.

Going to A&E doesn’t necessarily mean you will be admitted to hospital. What happens next will depend on the assessment. You might be:

• Sent to another part of the hospital. Like an urgent treatment centre. Some hospitals have mental health crisis centres.
• Asked to make an appointment with your GP. If you’re registered with a GP, the hospital will send them information about your A&E visit.
• Referred to a crisis team. They can support you at home.
• Given advice on how to look after yourself at home. You might be given some medication to take as well.
• Admitted to hospital if you’re seriously unwell.

A combination of these things might also happen. For example, if you’ve attempted suicide, you might be sent to a hospital ward to treat your injuries. The hospital might then refer you to a crisis team for treatment outside of hospital.

Can I be turned away from A&E?

You can’t be turned away from A&E before a medical professional has assessed you. And if you need emergency treatment, they need to make sure you get it.

But going to A&E doesn’t guarantee that you will be admitted to hospital. If health professionals think you can get support and treatment outside of hospital, they might not admit you. But they shouldn’t let you go home without any follow up.

They might refer you to a team that can help you at home. Or recommend some medication. They’ll let your GP know that you’ve been to A&E so you can speak to them about support and treatment.

If things change and your mental health gets worse, you can go back to A&E if you need to.

If your behaviour is seen as violent or aggressive

Sometimes the symptoms of your mental health problem might make you act in a way that makes other people feel unsafe. You might not be aware you’re doing this. Or you might think you need to act this way to keep yourself safe.

This could include:

• Yelling
• Threatening other people
• Hurting or trying to hurt other people

Even if you are doing these things, you shouldn’t be turned away from A&E or hospital. But professionals might need to take action to keep people safe if you aren’t able to stop. This could include giving you medication.

Can I get hospital treatment for my mental health?

You can get treatment for mental health problems in hospital.

You can be admitted to hospital:

• As an informal patient. This is also called a ‘voluntary patient’. It means you’ve agreed to go to hospital and can leave if you want to. For more information, see our page on informal patients.
• Under section. This is when you’re forced to stay in hospital, even if you don’t want to. There are different types of sections, each with different rules. There are strict criteria about who can be sectioned. For more information, see our page on sectioning. 

Treatment in hospital is normally only for people with symptoms that can’t be treated anywhere else. Your symptoms might:

• Make you or people around you unsafe
• Make it impossible for you to live your day-to-day life

My stays at hospital are a blur due to psychosis. I was shut off from my community and the people I’m familiar with. But it dawned on me as I got older that it was the safest and best place for me to get the help I needed.

How do I access hospital treatment for my mental health?

There are different ways to access hospital treatment. Usually you can’t refer yourself. You’ll need to be assessed by a healthcare professional. This can be done in a place like A&E or at your home. It depends on the circumstances.

Doctors will normally only refer you if it’s not possible for you to get better with support outside of hospital. Or if you can't keep yourself or other people safe.

You can be referred for hospital treatment by:

• A crisis team
• Mental health teams in A&E, urgent treatment centres or mental health crisis centres
• Specialist mental health professionals, like psychiatrists
• A GP

To see if hospital treatment is right for you, a health professional will ask you some questions. They might ask you about things like:

• Your symptoms.
• Other health problems you might have. This includes physical and mental health problems.
• Any treatment you’re getting, such as therapy or medications.
• People in your life that support you. Like family, friends or carers.
• Your daily life. Like the job you do or your social life.
• Your crisis plan, if you have one.
• Whether you feel safe at home. For example, if you’re experiencing abuse or neglect.

After answering these questions, different things might happen. You might be:

• Treated at home or in your community. Doctors will try and do this so you can stay in a familiar environment and carry on with your daily life. If this is recommended, you should be referred to a service that can support you at home. Like a crisis team.
• Admitted to a mental health ward. These are sometimes called psychiatric wards. You might decide to go yourself as an informal patient. Or you might have to be put under section. You normally share these wards with people with lots of different mental health problems.
• Admitted to a different ward. This might happen if you need treatment for your physical health. This might be related to your mental health problem, for example if you’ve attempted suicide or hurt yourself. Or if you’ve had a bad side effect from medication. You might be moved to a mental health ward later, or sent home. If you stay in the ward, you should be visited by the liaison psychiatry team. They help make sure your mental health is being treated as well as your physical health.
• Treated in hospital as a day patient. This is when you go to hospital during the day, but get to go home at night.
• Treated in hospital as an outpatient. This is when you just come to hospital for certain treatments. For example, talking therapy.
• Treated in a specialist mental health service. Some hospitals have services that specialise in a particular mental health problem. Such as OCD or eating problems. You might stay in hospital or be treated as a day patient or outpatient. Not all hospitals have these services.
• Sent to a hospital in a different area. This might happen if there are no beds available in your local hospital. Or if you need specialist care.

You might have a mixture of these experiences. It will depend on the care you need.

Healthcare professionals might discuss your treatment with other services. Like social care. They should ask for your consent to do this. But if they’re worried about your safety, they might need to share information without your consent. 

Chris's story: finding my way back from depression

Hear Chris talk about the support he was offered when he went to hospital after a suicide attempt.

Private hospital treatment for mental health

There are private hospitals that offer treatment for mental health problems.

To access private treatment, you can contact the hospital for an assessment.

You’ll normally need to pay upfront for private hospital treatment. It can be expensive. If you have private medical insurance, it might cover some of the cost. You should check with your insurance provider to be sure.

What might happen after I'm admitted to hospital?

If you’ve been admitted to hospital for your mental health, you should be:

• Given written information about where you are staying. This includes meal times, visiting hours and any rules you need to follow. If you need this information in a different format or language, staff should give you this.
• Shown around the ward.
• Introduced to any staff that will be looking after you.
• Treated with kindness and dignity.

If you’ve been sectioned, they should explain why.

You can tell the hospital staff if you have any specific needs. Like food allergies or religious needs. They should support you with these. And give you a chance to ask any questions.

The treatment you receive, the professionals you talk to and how long you are there will all vary. But you should be given clear information about your treatment. And kept informed of what’s happening.

For more information about being in hospital, see our pages on:

• Informal patients
• Sectioning
• Leaving hospital after sectioning

Hospital treatment if you're trans or non-binary

Many mental health wards in the UK are single sex spaces. Current NHS guidance says that you should be allowed to stay in the ward that matches your gender identity.

But the Supreme Court has said that the legal definition of a woman only includes 'biological women', not trans women. Even if they have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). It's not clear yet what this ruling will mean for hospitals in practice.

These discussions and rule changes can make it hard to know if you're being treated fairly. Rules about single-sex wards can also be more complicated if you're non-binary.

These experiences can be distressing. They could affect your ability to feel safe and recover while in hospital. The charity TransActual's guide Know your rights has more information on your legal rights. And where you can get support.

What can I do if I’m treated badly in hospital or A&E?

Some of us find being treated in hospital helpful. But some of us don’t. In some cases, we might find that it makes our mental health feel worse. This can be very upsetting. Particularly because we’re expecting to get help and support.

Bad experiences of hospital and A&E can vary. They might include:

• Being discriminated against
• Not getting proper care
• Being made to feel unsafe
• Being harmed in some way
• Being discharged before you were well enough to go home
• Processes not being followed properly. Like documents not being sent to professionals. Or treatment not being given properly.

If these things have happened, you have a right to complain. It’s not OK for you to be treated badly. And complaints help services address problems that might also be impacting other patients.

We have information on how to complain about health or social care.

If we have a bad experience it can make us feel like we shouldn’t reach out for help again. But try and remember that you deserve treatment and support for your mental health. And just because something went wrong before, that doesn’t mean that will happen every time.

I felt let down by the very people who were meant to protect me.

Raise the standard campaign

Mind is campaigning for better mental health hospitals. You can read about our work and join the campaign on our Raise the Standard page.