Acute hospital care: how much activity is attributable to caring for patients with dementia?

BACKGROUND People with dementia are among the most frequent service users in the acute hospital. Despite this, the acute hospital is not organized in a manner that best addresses their needs. METHODS We examined acute dementia care over a 3-year period from 2010 to 2012 in a 600-bed university hospital, to clarify the service activity and costs attributable to acute dementia care. RESULTS Nine hundred and twenty-nine patients with dementia were admitted during the study period, accounting for 1433/69 718 (2%) of all inpatient episodes, comprising 44 449/454 169 (10%) of total bed days. The average length of stay was 31.0 days in the dementia group and 14.1 days in those >65 years without dementia. The average hospital care cost was almost three times more (€13 832) per patient with dementia, compared with (€5404) non-dementia patients, accounting for 5% (almost €20 000 000) of the total hospital casemix budget for the period. DISCUSSION Service activity attributable to dementia care in the acute hospital is considerable. Moreover, given the fact that a significant minority of cognitive impairment goes unrecognized after acute admissions, it is likely that this is under-representative of the full impact of dementia in acute care. Although the money currently being spent on acute dementia care is considerable, it is being used to provide a service that does not meet its user needs adequately. It is clear that acute hospitals need to provide a more 'dementia friendly' service for acutely unwell older persons.