The NHS spent more than £100 million in a single year on mental health patients left in hospital beds because of a lack of appropriate housing, according to a new report.
The report, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Look Ahead, and the National Housing Federation, found that patients awaiting supported housing accounted for 23 per cent of all mental health delayed discharge days in February 2026. These delays led to 121,695 additional hospital bed days in 2024/25, costing the NHS approximately £102 million.
Experts warned that keeping people in hospital when they are clinically ready to leave incurs a “huge cost to both individuals and the NHS”. The authors said thousands of people who could be discharged remain in inpatient settings because there is nowhere suitable for them to go, and that inappropriate housing can trigger relapse and readmission in a “damaging and costly ‘revolving door’ cycle”.
Dr Jon Van Niekerk, chairman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ General Adult Faculty, expressed deep concern that people with mental illness are being kept in hospital too long or discharged into poor accommodation due to a lack of supported housing. He called for a closer working relationship between mental health and housing services to break the cycle, improve patient outcomes, reduce hospital pressure, and prove more cost effective in the long run.
Chris Hampson, chief executive at Look Ahead, which delivers mental health hospital discharge services in London and the South East, said that when supported housing is available, people recover faster and avoid relapse. He stressed that supported housing must be recognised and funded as core mental health infrastructure, not as an optional add-on.
