Delays discharging dementia patients from hospital cost the NHS £328million and wasted half a million bed days last year, new analysis reveals.
At least a quarter of patients aged 65 and over who remained in hospital a week after doctors had declared them fit to leave had dementia, rising to a third after three weeks.
This chronic ‘bed-blocking’ is fuelling long waits in A&E and hampering efforts to tackle waiting lists as the lack of free space on wards prevents doctors from admitting new patients.
Alzheimer’s Society said the figures, which it is publishing for the first time today, show tackling dementia discharge delays is key to easing winter NHS pressures.
Delayed discharge from hospital happens when someone is deemed medically fit to leave but is unable to return home.
This is often due to ‘poor planning and availability of dementia-appropriate follow-on support in health and social care services’, the charity added.
As well as creating bottlenecks in the system, staying in hospital longer than necessary increases the individual’s risk of complications.
This can be especially damaging for people living with dementia, who are more likely to struggle with the unfamiliar and often distressing hospital ward environment.
Michelle Dyson, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said speeding up the discharge of dementia patients is key to solving winter pressures in the NHS
Everyone experiences dementia differently. Use this checklist to help you make a note of your symptoms before you talk to your GP.
Risks include infections, falls, worsening cognitive function, poor mental health, malnutrition and dehydration.
The NHS England data, analysed by HSJ Information and Alzheimer’s Society, shows almost 29,000 dementia patients were kept in hospital for at least a week after they were declared fit to leave last year, accounting for 584,080 bed days.
Officials put the cost of a hospital bed at around £562 a day, giving a total of £328million.
But the true value is likely to be even higher as a third of people with dementia do not have a diagnosis and it does not include those who overstayed by less than a week.
The findings come as the Daily Mail and Alzheimer’s Society have partnered in a drive to beat dementia, which claims 76,000 lives each year and is the UK’s biggest killer.
The Defeating Dementia campaign aims to raise awareness of the disease, in an effort to increase early diagnosis, boost research and improve care.
Michelle Dyson, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘Every year, the NHS faces extreme winter pressures and we see time and time again the struggle to cope with the numbers of people needing urgent care.
‘It is clear from these figures that dementia is a key part of the puzzle.
‘People living with dementia are being left stranded in hospital, which is neither good for them nor the NHS.
‘Tackling dementia care and support would make a huge difference to the NHS’s ability to cope at this time of year.
‘Early diagnosis and access to appropriate services can help to prevent hospital admissions in the first place, while better care and support would also mean those in hospital could leave when they are well enough.
‘The Government has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to fix this, as it prepares its new blueprint for dementia health and social care, the Modern Service Framework.
‘Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer and the greatest challenge facing health and social care services.
‘The new plan must rise to the magnitude of the challenge, improving care to keep people healthier for longer and ultimately reduce the devastation caused by dementia.’
Nationally, 24 per cent of patients aged 65 and over who remained in hospital for at least a week after being declared fit for discharge had dementia, rising to 31 per cent at 21 days.
But there was wide regional variation, with some integrated care boards faring twice as badly others.
For example, the 21-days figure was just 19 per cent in Suffolk and North East Essex ICB but 44 per cent at North Central London ICB.
Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said social care needs more funding to help end bed-blocking in hospitals
Professor Martin Green, chief executive of social care trade body Care England, said: ‘The system is not working for people with dementia, and I am very grateful for the important work Alzheimer’s Society is doing to bring this issue to light.
‘Social care should be seen as a critical partner to the NHS, receiving the funding needed to deliver the best outcomes for people living with dementia.
‘This is particularly important in the context of winter pressures; the capacity in social care needs to be utilised in order to ease pressure on the NHS and deliver for patients.’
Rates of delayed discharge from hospital have risen steadily since the pandemic and have received widespread coverage but data on dementia specifically has not previously been made publicly available.
The new analysis, shared exclusively with the Daily Mail, includes the use of private beds by NHS patients in 2024/25.
Adam Gordon, professor of the care of older people at Queen Mary University of London, said: ‘These figures paint a stark picture of delayed discharge from hospital for people living with dementia.
‘As a practicing clinician, I see the real trauma that these delays cause to people living with dementia and their families.
‘The knock-on effect caused by unnecessary additional pressure on the NHS during its busiest winter months makes it difficult for us to give our patients the care they deserve.
‘That’s why we need to address the root causes of avoidable hospital admissions, by improving early and accurate diagnosis, and the quality of care and support people living with dementia receive.
‘We also need more timely and expert care for people living with dementia when they need to come into hospital, to ensure they can return home promptly and in the best possible health.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Dementia is a cruel illness, and too many people living with the condition are left stranded in hospital when they would be better cared for in their community.
‘The shocking delays to hospital discharge we inherited have cost patients and the NHS far too much, but we are working to turn this around.
‘We are joining up NHS and social care through Neighbourhood Health Teams, and backing adult social care with a £4.6 billion funding boost so more people can get the care they need out of hospital.
‘Baroness Casey’s Independent Commission will consider how to build a social care system fit for the future, and we are developing the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia, setting national standards to improve care quality and ensure every person with dementia gets the support they deserve.’
