Report published on hospital admissions for people with dementia
A report has been published by University College London (UCL) entitled ‘Breaking the cycle of hospital admissions in people with dementia’.
The report draws on evidence from 77 papers and 1.48 million participants and is described as ‘the most comprehensive review of dementia hospitalisations ever undertaken in the UK’. It documents that delayed discharges, lack of staff communication and unsuitable hospital environments are keeping people with dementia in hospital unnecessarily: if you have dementia you are five times more likely to remain in hospital despite being medically fit to leave.
The report highlights how delayed discharges impact the dignity of patients and accelerate frailty. It concludes with recommendations to prevent hospitalisations for people with dementia and reduce the length of inpatient stays.
UCL researchers had backing from The Geller Commission, Dementia UK and the Alzheimer’s Society to create the report, which names five lived experience contributors alongside the project team.
The report’s lead author, Professor Andrew Sommerlad from UCL Psychiatry, says:
“Despite public and political perception, these dementia-related failings in the UK health and care system are not intractable. The research clearly shows how important community-centric approaches are to reducing hospitalisations and minimising long stays, yet the NHS is not implementing them.
With one in three people over 90 expected to have dementia, it has never been more important to redirect resources to evidence-based care and improve communication to ensure families, hospital staff and carers are working as one joined-up team.”
You can read the report here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-sciences/sites/brain_sciences/files/2026-08/UCL%20Report%20Aug%202026%20-%20Breaking%20the%20cycle%20of%20hospital%20admissions%20in%20people%20with%20dementia.pdf