Half a million children on mental health waiting lists in England risk turning to AI chatbots for support, warns RCPsych

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The Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) has identified that there are currently 550,610 children and young people, who have been referred to mental health services in England and on waiting lists for treatment.

Of these, 30% (165,887) have been waiting for over two years and 53% (289,722) for over one year, as of the end of November 2025, according to NHSE data¹.

RCPsych is warning this lack of prioritisation to treat children with mental illness in England is turning treatable conditions into lifelong recurring mental illnesses. We are also gravely concerned that this delay could potentially fuel a dangerous reliance on AI chatbots.

Dr Lade Smith CBE, RCPsych President, said:

“The number of young people waiting for mental health treatment in England is just unacceptable. If you're a 12-year-old child, two years is a sixth of your life, this is a large part of your developmental process. And without a doubt, that delay in treatment will interfere with your ability to achieve your potential and get on with your life.

“There truly is a lack of ambition to treat mental illness in children and young people. Unlike physical disorders, which mostly arise in middle age or older, the majority of mental disorders arise in youth. The good news is that most can be effectively treated, but if left untreated, this risks a young person becoming an adult with a chronic illness that interferes with life chances – interferes with their relationships, interferes with their education and interferes with them being able to work. It is time to prioritise children’s mental health care, for the good of individuals but frankly also for the good of the country.”

Amid the ongoing debate on use of social media and online platforms by children, RCPsych is raising its concerns around the number of young people who could look for alternative help and seek this help online while on mental health waiting lists.

Dr Guy Northover, Chair of RCPsych’s Child and Adolescent Faculty, commented:

“While publicly available AI tools may give instant answers that feel supportive, in reality they don't have the safeguards in place to ensure the advice given is actually safe or appropriate for a vulnerable child.

“Someone struggling with their mental health shouldn’t have to worry about 'factchecking' their own support. Families must stick to trusted, well-known sources for guidance they can truly rely on – there are online resources that are safe and evidence-based, but they’re not always widely available, and often subject to a postcode lottery or paywalls.

“Addressing this rapidly growing trend should be a public health priority. Providing nationwide guidance that everyone can access quickly, freely and in a timely manner is now critical, so people seeking help do not have to rely on unregulated online platforms.”

Footnotes

1. The data in this release has been taken from the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) Monthly: Performance November 2025 Referrals spreadsheet, published by NHS Digital in January 2026. Datasets MRS09, MRS09b, MRS09a, MRS09f and MRS09e have been used respectively. The full data can be accessed via NHS Digital – NHS England Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics
2. The datasets above are based on when a referred patient receives a ‘full clock stop’, which is defined as one of a range of interventions such as evidence-based treatment, care plan, consultation, advice or signposting.
3. RCPsych has published the full set of CYP waiting times data relating to ‘full clock stops’ for England and all ICBs on its Mental Health Watch website, showing the performance trends for patients seen within four weeks and the percentages waiting more than a year and more than two years – RCPsych Mental Health Watch

The latest available data for CYP mental health waiting times in the devolved nations is outlined below:

• Northern Ireland – The most recent nationwide figures (to the end of March 2024) showed that just over half of patients were waiting longer than nine weeks. Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
• Scotland – By the end of September 2025, 128 patients had been waiting over a year, down from a high of more than 2,200 in late 2021. Nine out of ten patients were seen within 17 weeks of referral in the quarter to September 2025. Source: Public Health Scotland
• Wales – In June 2025, around two-thirds (67.6%) of under-18s started treatment within four weeks. Source: gov.wales