Judge Condemns 'Intolerable' Detention of Vulnerable Teen in Windowless Hospital Room
A High Court judge has strongly criticised the case of a 13-year-old girl who was detained in a windowless hospital room for more than two months, describing the situation as 'intolerable' and highlighting a systemic failure in mental health care provision for vulnerable children.
'Highly Vulnerable' Girl Held in A&E Ward Without Windows
The girl, identified only as BA in court proceedings, was sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 in May 2025 due to her vulnerability. Following initial treatment, she was discharged in December but returned to hospital care the following month. In January 2026, a judge ordered that she be made subject to a deprivation of liberty order, which allows local authorities to restrict a child's freedom when they are deemed at serious risk of harm from themselves or others.
Mr Justice McKendrick revealed in his judgment that the teenager had been 'placed in a single room with an en-suite bathroom' that had no windows. This room was located within a 'noisy, busy paediatric accident and emergency ward' at an unnamed London hospital. The judge noted that while she was occasionally escorted into the garden, she appeared to have received no formal education during her detention.
Systemic Failures in Mental Health Care Placements
The court heard that a London borough, which has not been publicly identified, requested that the girl continue to be deprived of her liberty for an additional two weeks while an appropriate care placement was sought. The authority acknowledged that the hospital setting was 'very far from ideal' but maintained it was 'the only identified place that can keep BA safe currently.'
Justice McKendrick expressed profound concern about the broader implications of this case, stating: 'It is intolerable that a highly vulnerable child has been detained in a room without windows, in a busy and noisy accident and emergency ward, for nearly two and half months.' He further emphasised that this situation was unacceptable not only for BA and her 'distraught' parents but also for 'the many other children who are in state detention in inappropriate settings' due to the well-documented shortage of suitable mental health facilities.
Challenging Behaviour and Ongoing Legal Proceedings
The judge detailed that BA continues to display very challenging behaviour, including:
- Self-harming incidents
- Assaults on hospital staff
- Repeated attempts to abscond from the facility
Despite these concerns, Justice McKendrick allowed the deprivation of liberty order to continue until the end of March to facilitate BA's transfer to a children's home, stating this measure was necessary to 'assist her to be kept safe from serious harm.' He also highlighted the wider resource implications, noting that 'a much-needed NHS bed is unavailable for want of other more appropriate provision.'
A further hearing in this distressing case has been scheduled for next month, as authorities continue to grapple with the critical shortage of appropriate mental health care placements for vulnerable young people across the country.
