Statistics on people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health hospitals, AT: May 2026, MHSDS: April 2026

Two changes have been made to the methodology for measures within the AT data tables, with effect from the
publication of April 2026 data.

• Patient total length of stay will now be calculated by combining contiguous episodes of care into spells. 
  All values for hospital start date and earliest admission date in episodes within the spell will be considered
  to establish the original admission date.
• Where patient records indicate that an episode of care ended on the last day of the month
  and a new one started the next day, but the data indicates that it was a continuous stay in hospital,
  the patient will now be counted as in hospital at the end of the month. 

These changes will mean a more accurate view of the number of patients in hospital, and the total length of stay.
Full details of the change are published here 

Announcement of methodological change to the statistics on people with a learning disability and autistic people in
mental health hospitals publication

From 1 April 2026, 6 new Integrated care boards (ICBs) were established and the boundary of an existing ICB was widened
through the abolition of 12 existing ICBs.
Data in the AT tables is presented for the new ICBs.  One existing ICB and Sub ICB Location (SICBL) (Frimley) was divided,
with parts of its geographical footprint forming part of 3 different ICBs. As the divided SICBL cannot be mapped forward,
the comparability of time series for these 3 ICBs is affected - these are noted in the data tables.

Further details of ICB changes are available at NHS England » Integrated care in your area