Nearly a quarter of older patients facing delayed hospital discharge have dementia, costing the NHS £328m in 2024/25, a new report has revealed.
Around 24 per cent of people aged 65 and over who are fit to be discharged but kept in hospital for a week longer than necessary are believed to have the condition, nearly 29,000 people in one year.
Figures published by Alzheimer’s Society show the impact worsens the longer people stay in hospital.
The proportion rises to almost a third (31 per cent) for patients kept in at least 21 days longer than they should be.
Michelle Dyson CB, 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.”
NHS England data, analysed by HSJ Information and Alzheimer’s Society, shows keeping people living with dementia in hospital unnecessarily accounts for 584,080 bed days.
Delayed discharge happens when someone is medically fit to leave but cannot return home. Causes often include poor planning and limited dementia-appropriate follow-on support in health and social care.
The figures also show wide local variation. Suffolk and North East Essex ICB reports that one in five people (19 per cent) aged over 65 kept in hospital for 21 days longer than necessary were believed to have dementia.
This more than doubles at North Central London ICB, where 44 per cent of over 65s kept in longer than 21 days were believed to have dementia.
Staying in hospital unnecessarily increases the risk of complications. For people with dementia, unfamiliar wards can worsen confusion.
Risks include infections, falls, worsening cognitive function (thinking, memory and reasoning), poor mental health, malnutrition and dehydration.
Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of 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.”
