We are very excited to be sharing a new national report: Delirium Matters: priorities and opportunities for health and social care policy in England: and Policy Briefing. Delirium Matters: Priorities and opportunities for health and social care policy in England; launched in April 2025, with the intention of informing health and social care policy in England.
“Delirium is the most common complication amongst hospitalised people over 65 years and a quarter of older adults in hospital in England have delirium during admission6,7, up to 76%8 of whom will die.” Page 7, Delirium Matters Report
“We estimate that delirium cost the NHS in England a total of £10.8 billion in 2022, but up to a third of cases are preventable. We could save £1.8-2.8 billion per year by doing so. Better delirium recognition and care would significantly benefit patients, the NHS and social care systems.” Page 1, Delirium Matters Report
The report, written by Prof Liz Sampson from the NIHR Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Unit – Queen Mary University of London which also included Dementia United (Emma Vardy/Helen Pratt) as contributing authors alongside other national leading delirium specialists; plus Dementia United’s Dementia Carers Expert Reference Group members and people with lived experience contributed too.
The report and briefing recommendations dovetail with the seven Greater Manchester’s delirium standards and approach as per link here Greater Manchester Approach to Delirium – Dementia United.
Dementia United’s delirium resources can be accessed here Delirium – Dementia United; which includes toolkits for community and hospital staff, links to training, translated delirium leaflets/audio/films in to 16 languages, as well as resources for carers/family members. I have also included a link here to Dementia United’s World Delirium Awareness Day 2025 in-person health and care staff event was a huge success. – Dementia United, where we showcased work from Greater Manchester and internationally from Singapore, along with hearing from people with lived experience.
