Dr Sam Jones

Who Dr Sam Jones is

Dr Samantha (Sam) Jones is a Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine and serves as Officer for Mental Health at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH). She has worked in children's emergency departments for more than 25 years, during which time she has observed a marked increase in children and young people presenting in mental health distress. In her RCPCH role she speaks on behalf of the College on children's mental health policy, including on the rising severity of presentations, eating disorders, self-harm, neurodevelopmental conditions, and the harms associated with children's online activity and social media use. She has been quoted in national press and by the Science Media Centre in relation to emergency admissions for child mental health and the UK government's ban on social media for under-16s. The RCPCH is the professional body for paediatricians in the United Kingdom, representing more than 22,000 members.

References for this biography

1. 1.State of Child Health 2026: Mental health | RCPCH — Confirms full name (Dr Samantha Jones), dual role as Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine and RCPCH Officer for Mental Health, and 25-year clinical background in children's emergency departments.
2. 2.Half a million children attended A&E in mental health crisis | Royal College of Nursing — Confirms role title 'RCPCH Officer for Mental Health, Dr Sam Jones' and establishes her advocacy on emergency child mental health admissions and calls for government investment.
3. 3.Expert reaction to UK Government announcing a ban on social media for under-16s | Science Media Centre — Confirms role title and establishes her as a named expert commentator on children's online harms and social media policy.
4. 4.Children's doctors increasingly treating harms associated with social media and being online | RCPCH — Confirms role and quotes Dr Sam Jones on online harms and the need for coordinated government action to protect children's digital environments.
5. 5.RCPCH responds to ADHD Taskforce's final report | RCPCH — Confirms role title and establishes her advocacy on neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD in children.
6. 6.Contact us | RCPCH — Confirms RCPCH head office address (5-11 Theobald's Road, London WC1X 8SH) and general enquiries phone number.

Notable achievements

• Quoted by the Science Media Centre as RCPCH Officer for Mental Health in response to the UK government's ban on social media for under-16s (June 2026). Source ↗
• Featured as clinical expert voice in RCPCH State of Child Health 2026 mental health chapter, drawing on 25 years of emergency department experience. Source ↗
• Issued joint RCPCH statement with the Royal College of Nursing on the finding that an estimated 500,000 children sought A&E help for mental health problems since 2019, calling for coordinated government action (May 2026). Source ↗
• Issued RCPCH response to the ADHD Taskforce's final report, highlighting neurodevelopmental waiting times and training needs (November 2025). Source ↗

What Dr Sam Jones has said

• “Behind every one of these figures is a child or young person in distress and a family who didn't know where else to turn. Emergency departments are a vital safety net, but they were never designed to be a place where children in mental health crisis wait for days at time. This is a national crisis that will only get worse without urgent intervention.”

  RCPCH officer for mental health · Mental health · 30 Sept 2026 · Children as young as six going to A&E in mental health crisis ↗

• “If you have your stroke in the evening or wake up early in the morning with symptoms, you're not going to be able to have that procedure that could potentially save parts of your brain and stop further damage.”

  associate director for the North East and Yorkshire, The Stroke Association · Heart disease & stroke · 30 Sept 2026 · Stroke treatment access a 'postcode lottery' ↗

• “For those of us working on the front line, these numbers are devastating but not surprising. Since around 2017, we have watched this surge unfold in real time in our waiting rooms and wards.”

  paediatrician · Mental health · 30 Sept 2026 · When children as young as six are in a mental health crisis, the system is failing ↗

• “Behind every one of these figures is a child or young person in distress, and a family who didn't know where else to turn. This is a national crisis that will only get worse without urgent intervention from government and NHS leaders.”

  RCPCH officer for mental health · Mental health · 29 Sept 2026 · ‘Alarming’ rise in children attending A&E in mental health crisis ↗

• “No child should be spending 12 hours or more in A&E let alone days to weeks while they wait for the right support. The scandal has to end.”

  RCPCH officer for mental health · Children's health · 8 Sept 2026 · Sharp rise in children in mental health crisis attending A&E ↗

• “We are seeing a sharp rise in mental health problems among children and young people. More younger children are struggling and there has been an increase in self-harm and eating disorders in recent years.”

  Mental health officer at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · More exam stress at 15 linked to higher risk of depression as young adult – study ↗

• “Alongside rising levels of poor mental health, the nature of need is changing fast. Problems are more complex and severe, more younger children are affected and rates of self-harm and eating disorders continue to rise.”

  research officer for mental health at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Children in mental health crisis waiting up to three days in A&E for specialist bed in England ↗

Where Dr Sam Jones has been quoted

1. Mental health A&E attendances among six to nine-year-olds rise 62%cypnow.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
2. Children as young as six going to A&E in mental health crisisbbc.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
3. Stroke treatment access a 'postcode lottery'bbc.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
4. When children as young as six are in a mental health crisis, the system is failingtelegraph.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
5. ‘Alarming’ rise in children attending A&E in mental health crisispulsetoday.co.uk · 29 Sept 2026
6. Sharp rise in children in mental health crisis attending A&Enursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
7. More exam stress at 15 linked to higher risk of depression as young adult – studytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
8. Children in mental health crisis waiting up to three days in A&E for specialist bed in Englandtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• Emergency doctor 'completely terrified' of looming winter pressures on NHSBBC
• One Year On: How The Royal Foundation is strengthening suicide prevention support in the UKRoyal Foundation
• Norwich City teams up with The Royal Foundation to support suicide preventionNorwich City Football Club

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.rcpch.ac.uk/work-we-do/state-of-child-health/mental-health
• Press office phone+44 (0) 20 7092 6000published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.