29/01/2026
This post was released by the Alzheimer's Society, highlighting a growing and deeply concerning issue.
Half a million bed days are being spent keeping people living with dementia in hospital longer than necessary, often not because they are unwell, but because the right dementia-appropriate support isn’t in place for them to return home safely.
At Maintain Independence Ltd we are specialists in supporting people living with dementia, and we’re in a unique position to help bridge this gap.
Our team has many years of direct experience working:
• In specialist dementia care settings
• In people’s own homes
• Across community-based services
• Alongside families, carers, and wider care teams
This depth of experience allows us to provide practical, realistic, and person-centred support following hospital discharge, including:
• Mobility and rehabilitation – rebuilding strength, balance, and confidence after time in hospital
• Falls prevention – reducing risk through targeted movement and functional exercises
• Nutrition and hydration support – helping prevent weight loss, dehydration, and decline
• Routine, familiarity, and reassurance – supporting recovery in a calm home environment
• Confidence for families and carers – so discharge feels safer and less overwhelming
Prolonged hospital stays can increase the risk of falls, infections, malnutrition, dehydration, and cognitive decline, particularly for people living with dementia. Being supported at home, by professionals who truly understand dementia, can make a meaningful difference to outcomes and quality of life.
This isn’t about replacing NHS services. It’s about strengthening what happens after discharge, so people can leave hospital when they’re ready and remain well in the community.
Half a million bed days are being spent keeping people living with dementia in hospital unnecessarily - and it’s costing the NHS £328 million.
Today we've published data revealing the true extent of delays to discharge from hospital for people living with dementia, and the knock-on effect for NHS winter pressures.
In one year, around 29,000 people with dementia who were fit to be discharged were kept in hospital for at least a week longer than necessary. While our insights released today don’t include the reasons for delays, these can include poor planning and lack of available dementia-appropriate follow-on support.
Delayed discharge reduces the numbers of beds available, creating bottlenecks that affect other parts of the NHS especially in winter when more people need urgent care.
It can also have a negative impact on the people being kept in hospital.
Staying in hospital unnecessarily increases a person’s risk of complications. Delays can be especially damaging for people living with dementia, who are more likely to struggle with the unfamiliar and often distressing hospital ward environment.
Risks include infections, falls, worsening cognitive function, poor mental health, malnutrition and dehydration.
Tackling dementia care and support would make a huge difference to the NHS’s ability to cope with winter pressures. Early diagnosis and access to appropriate services can help to prevent hospital visits in the first place, while better care and support would also mean those in hospital could leave when they're well enough.
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer and the greatest challenge facing health and social care services. The government must rise to the magnitude of the challenge, improving care to keep people healthier for longer and reduce the devastation caused by dementia.
[Image description: A news headline reads: Exclusive: 'Dementia discharge delays costing NHS £328million and wasted 500,000 bed days last year. Daily Mail.' The headline is overlaid on a blurred image of a person in a hospital bed. Headline via The Daily Mail.]
