Children Held for Hours in A&E Under Mental Health Act

by Grace Chen

Okay, here’s a breakdown of the provided text, focusing on extracting the key information and relating it to the JSON-LD FAQPage schema.I’ll also point out potential improvements to the JSON-LD if it where to be expanded.

1. Summary of the Article

The article details a concerning trend in England: children experiencing mental health crises are being held in accident & Emergency (A&E) departments (emergency rooms) under police guard due to a severe shortage of specialist mental health assessment facilities and beds. This practice, while intended as a temporary measure, is leading to long waits (up to 24 hours, averaging 18.5 hours), exposure to a chaotic and unsuitable habitat, and privacy concerns for vulnerable children. Police officers themselves are critical of the practice. Data collection on this issue is inconsistent, highlighting the need for further research.

2. Relationship to the JSON-LD

The provided JSON-LD accurately reflects the core questions and answers addressed in the article. Here’s how the article supports each FAQ entry:

* “Why are children being detained in A&E departments?” The article explicitly states this is due to “a lack of suitable specialist mental health assessment suites and a shortage of mental health beds.”
* “How long do children wait in A&E?” The article confirms waits of “up to 24 hours, with some spending an average of 18.5 hours in A&E under police control.”
* “What are the consequences of detaining children in A&E?” The article highlights the “public and chaotic environment” exacerbating distress and the “privacy concerns” arising from sensitive disclosures.

3. JSON-LD analysis & Potential Improvements

The current JSON-LD is a good starting point. Here’s a more detailed look and suggestions for expansion:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "question",
      "name": "Why are children being detained in A&E departments?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "A lack of suitable specialist mental health assessment suites and a shortage of mental health beds force children to be held in A&E departments under police care."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How long do children wait in A&E?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Research indicates children can wait for up to 24 hours, with some spending an average of 18.5 hours in A&E under police control."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What are the consequences of detaining children in A&E?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "The public and chaotic environment of A&E can exacerbate distress for vulnerable children, and privacy concerns arise when sensitive disclosures are made."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What age children are affected by this issue?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Children as young as nine years old are being detained in A&E departments."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What do police officers think about using A&E departments for this purpose?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Police officers describe A&E as 'wholly inappropriate' and a 'nightmare,' expressing concerns about the lack of privacy and suitability of the environment."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Is there data on how many children are affected nationally?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "1,561 children were detained across England and Wales in the year ending March 2024. However, data on A&E admissions specifically is not consistently tracked."
      }
    }
  ]
}

Improvements & Explanations:

* Added Questions: I’ve added three more questions based on information readily available in the article. This makes the FAQ more extensive.
* specificity: The answers are directly pulled from the text, maintaining accuracy.
* consider mainEntity expansion: For a more robust FAQPage, you could consider adding more details to each mainEntity. For example:


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