26-24 – Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Impacting Length of Stay for People with Dementia Discharged from NHS Inpatient Mental Health Wards

Objectives
To identify factors associated with, and predictive of, length of stay for people with dementia, discharged from three NHS inpatient mental health wards in the Northwest of England.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was conducted using routinely collected data from 1st January 2022 to 31st December 2023.
Results
There were 189 discharges, relating to 178 individuals, with a mean length of stay of 120 days. Univariate analysis showed that frequency of restrictive interventions, total types of restrictive interventions and number of falls were significantly associated with increased length of stay (p<.05).
Discharges had significantly longer lengths of stay if they did not return to usual place of residence on discharge (p<.001), had no prior admission (p=.022), moved wards (p=.002) or were admitted to or discharged from an alternative locality (p<.001).
Findings demonstrated that more falls and restrictive interventions significantly predicted longer stays. Each fall increased length of stay by 5%, and each restrictive intervention by 2% (p<.001).
Conclusions
This is an important addition to a lesser researched area. The practical implications emphasise the importance of implementing strategies to reduce falls and restrictive interventions. Strategies should also include consideration of other risk factors that influence length of stay, to improve clinical outcomes.
Key points:
• People with dementia may have long admissions to mental health wards.
• Number of falls and frequency of restrictive interventions predicted increases
in length of stay.
• Transitions are a key factor in influencing length of stay.