Today, Dr Ranga Rao, the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ national lead for acute in-patient care, said: “On the face of it, these figures are worrying.

“Patients should only be sent away from their local area for care if it is in their best interests or in exceptional circumstances, otherwise it can have a negative impact on their recovery.

“The Acute Care Commission has recommended that out of area placements be phased out for non-specialist treatment and the Government has said they will do this by 2021.

“There has been significant progress in this area since data on out-of-area placements was made publicly available from October last year.

“It is important for mental health trusts to work out whether they have enough hospital beds and community mental health teams to eliminate inappropriate out-of-area placements by 2021.”

An NHS England spokesman said the definition of an out of area placements had been “toughened up,” meaning year-on-year comparisons would not be accurate.

He said the NHS would fund up to 180 new specialist beds over the next two years, bringing help to 49,000 more children and young people, and reducing the number travelling long distances.

Meanwhile, an audit of services for children and teenagers shows that just one in six areas are meeting standards intended to speed up treatment for the most vulnerable.