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Attendance Allowance in hospital

Updated 14 September 2026 Figures re-checked 1 November 2026
The short answer

Attendance Allowance keeps being paid for the first 28 days of an NHS hospital stay, then stops until the person leaves. Stays separated by 28 days or less are added together, so a short spell at home does not restart the count. Tell the DWP about every admission, because a carer's benefits can be affected too.

A hospital admission is stressful enough without a benefit letter following it. The Attendance Allowance rule is mechanical, and knowing how the days are counted avoids most of the surprises.

The first 28 days are paid

Attendance Allowance is not paid for time spent as an NHS in-patient, but the regulations delay that. They say the hospital rule does not apply to a person in respect of the first 28 days of any period during which they are undergoing treatment in a hospital (Attendance Allowance Regulations 1991, regulation 8, checked 1 November 2026).

It starts again when the person leaves hospital. Nothing about the award itself ends: the rate and the entitlement are unchanged, and payment resumes from discharge without a new claim.

How the days are counted

Admission and discharge days are not treated as full in-patient days. The hospital in-patient regulations deem a period of free in-patient treatment to begin on the day after the day a person enters hospital, and to end on the day they leave (Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 2005, regulation 2, checked 1 November 2026).

The rule applies to treatment that is free under the NHS. The Attendance Allowance regulations make it a condition of receipt that the person is not maintained free of charge as an in-patient in an NHS hospital or similar institution (regulation 6, checked 1 November 2026). A stay paid for privately is not caught in the same way.

A short spell at home does not restart the count. The regulations say two or more distinct periods separated by an interval not exceeding 28 days are treated as a continuous period equal in duration to the total of those periods (regulation 8, checked 1 November 2026). A short return home does not reset the count.

So a person in hospital for 20 days, home for three weeks, then readmitted, has already used 20 of their 28 days when they go back in. Keep a note of admission and discharge dates, because repeated short stays add up faster than anyone expects.

Tell the DWP about every stay

Reporting is a duty, not a courtesy. GOV.UK lists going into hospital or a care home among the changes to report, and says you will need to give the address, the dates you have been there, and how your stay is paid for (GOV.UK, Attendance Allowance: report a change in circumstances, checked 1 November 2026).

The same page warns that you could be taken to court or have to pay a penalty if you give wrong information or do not report a change. In practice, the usual consequence of forgetting is an overpayment for the weeks after day 28, which the department then recovers. Our Attendance Allowance contact page has the helpline details.

What it does to a carer’s benefits

Attendance Allowance stopping can ripple outwards. Carer’s Allowance depends on the person being cared for receiving a qualifying disability benefit, so when Attendance Allowance stops, a carer’s entitlement can stop with it. The severe disability addition paid with Pension Credit can also be affected, because it depends on the disability benefit too.

Carer’s Allowance has a separate clock of its own, and it is a different length. GOV.UK says you must tell the DWP if you or the person you care for will be in hospital, a nursing home or respite care for more than 12 weeks (GOV.UK, Carer's Allowance: report a change in circumstances, checked 1 November 2026). The 28-day and 12-week rules measure different things, and a carer needs to watch both. Our page on when Carer’s Allowance stops covers the carer’s side.

Care homes are a different rule

Moving into a care home rather than a hospital is covered by other rules, which turn on who pays for the care. GOV.UK says you can still claim if you pay for all your care home costs yourself (GOV.UK, Attendance Allowance: eligibility, checked 1 November 2026). Our page on Attendance Allowance and care homes explains when it continues and when it stops.

Scotland has replaced Attendance Allowance with Pension Age Disability Payment, run by Social Security Scotland, which has its own rules for hospital stays. Our Scotland page sets out the differences.

Common questions

Does Attendance Allowance stop when you go into hospital?

Not straight away. The regulations let it continue for the first 28 days of a period in which the person is an NHS in-patient. After that it stops, and it starts again when they come home. The day of admission does not count as an in-patient day, and the period ends on the day they leave.

Mum was in hospital for three weeks, home for a fortnight, then back in. Does the 28 days start again?

No. The regulations treat two or more stays separated by an interval of 28 days or less as one continuous period, equal to the total of the stays. Her three weeks and the second admission are added together, so payment stops once the combined in-patient time passes 28 days.

What happens to my Carer's Allowance if Dad's Attendance Allowance stops?

Carer's Allowance depends on the person cared for getting a qualifying disability benefit, so it can be affected when that benefit stops. Carer's Allowance also has its own rule: GOV.UK says you must tell the DWP if you or the person you care for will be in hospital for more than 12 weeks.

Do I need to tell anyone about a hospital stay?

Yes. GOV.UK lists going into hospital or a care home as a change to report, with the address, the dates and how the stay is paid for. Reporting protects against an overpayment, which the DWP would otherwise recover later, and it warns of penalties for not reporting a change.

What to read next

Attendance Allowance and care homes: it stops only if someone else pays
Moving into a care home does not end Attendance Allowance. Public funding of your care does. Self-funders keep it; where the council or NHS pays, most benefits stop within 28 days.
Attendance Allowance contact: the helpline number, hours and what to have ready
0800 731 0122, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. One number covers new claims and changes to an award — and ringing for a form can set your claim date up to six weeks earlier.
The Attendance Allowance claim form: how to get it, fill it in and send it
The AA1A runs to 32 pages, cannot be completed on a phone or tablet, and the way you get hold of it decides the date your claim starts.
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