The ‘hidden crisis’ stopping hundreds of children from leaving hospital
Hundreds of children are unnecessarily hospitalized anywhere in the world England According to one report, these people are being used because they do not have the necessary support to return home.
Delays in discharge mean young patients miss out on vital childhood activities, while also creating bed shortages for other children in need of care.
The Children’s Commissioner’s report, published on Monday, includes new analysis NHS England The data found that more than 260,000 young people spent three or more weeks of their childhood in hospital, and 1,300 were hospitalized for more than a year.
Medical advances mean more children with complex or life-limiting conditions can live longer, but community services for children, such as social care, housing, education and home care, have not kept pace, the report said.
“For all the discussion and attention given to hospitals, waiting times and social care, children are rarely mentioned,” said Dame Rachel de Souza.
“Childhood is a short and precious time, so when a child is trapped in a hospital ward for months or even years, the system has failed, not because they are too bad to leave, but because the right community support is not available.”
Dame Rachel de Souza says children are ‘rarely mentioned’ in debate over hospital care (PA)
This failure, he said, was due in part to a “lack of good data.”
The report said the NHS did not consistently record how many young people were medically fit to leave hospital but remained there due to factors outside the health service.
One hospital that documented data found that in June 2025, five percent of children on its ward were able to leave medically but were unable to leave.
“My work shows a hidden crisis as services do not know for sure how many children are stranded, waiting to be discharged, how long they are waiting or how many day beds can be saved and made available to children who really need to be there,” the commissioner said.
The report found that more than 14,000 children spent more than 10 percent of their teenage years in hospital, while more than 400 spent half their lives there.
The report said ethnic minorities and children from poor backgrounds were disproportionately likely to stay in hospital for long periods of time.
The report stated that the lack of beds also affected elective and emergency admissions.
It was found that there were many factors that delayed children leaving facilities, including long waits to secure community care packages, often resulting from funding disputes between health and social care.
Many factors found to delay children leaving facilities (PA)
There was a serious shortage of children’s social care placements and inconsistencies in access to community care, nursing, palliative care and therapeutic services.
There was a lack of suitable housing for families and delays in the adaptations and equipment needed for young people to live safely at home.
A long hospital stay may mean families must travel between home and medical facilities, take time off from work, and balance care for other children while navigating challenging support systems.
Dame Rachel called on the government to create a co-ordinated way to support children with complex needs outside of hospitals.
He proposed an intergovernmental system that would bring together health, social care and education.
Home support or specialist placement can be provided for those who cannot return home safely.
He also proposed a national plan to expand home care and child care so that families can consistently rely on this support.
Guaranteed access to palliative and end-of-life care for children was also proposed, as well as paid leave for parents of sick children.
Research may have discovered why cancer survival rates in children vary across Europe (Getty/iStock)
Nick Carroll, chief executive of the charity Together for Short Lives, said: “Sadly, Dame Rachel’s findings reflect what Together for Short Lives has been hearing from families for some time: despite the incredible support provided by NHS and voluntary sector children’s palliative care services, many families do not have the option of accessing this at home or in a children’s hospice.
“This is due to workforce shortages, fragile funding and a failure by ministers to hold local NHS bodies to account for planning services that meet best practice standards.”
Cambridge Children’s Hospital is under construction and will be the first specialist children’s hospital in the east of England.
In light of the report, hospital leaders said: “We need a fundamentally different approach, connecting hospital specialists with community teams, social care and schools from the outset.”
Mental health clinical co-lead Professor Isobel Heyman and physical health clinical lead Dr. Rob Heuschkel said in a joint statement: “(The hospital) will include an embedded research institute focusing on early intervention and a hospital school working with children’s own schools to keep education on track, as well as extending specialist support to communities through stronger links with social care and home nursing.
“Our aim is not only to transform care at the local level, but to create a national model of how children’s services work together beyond hospital walls.”
Children included in the data were hospitalized on November 30, 2024 and were 17 years of age or younger.
This includes the hospital stay of children born and dying in the hospital.
Interviews were also conducted with parents of children with complex needs and health and child social care professionals between June and December 2025.
It also used previously unpublished data on discharge delays from five hospitals.
