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Health and rough sleeping

'No One Left Out (opens new window)' outlines the serious and complex health problems faced by people who sleep or have slept rough. They are more likely than the average citizen, to have mental health problems, misuse drug or alcohol and have very poor physical health.

Whether sleeping rough or living in hostels, many face difficulties accessing appropriate primary and secondary care. Given this the Strategy has a specific action:

Action 5 - Improving access to health and social care services for people with multiple needs who are sleeping rough or in hostels

Doing more to support people to access effective health and care is a key priority in this Strategy.

This section will have resources specifically focused on this Action.

Supporting people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping: Emergency Department pathway, checklist and toolkit

NHS England has published a new guide to support people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping. A Pathway, checklist and toolkit have been co-developed to help emergency departments to support patients and make service improvements.

Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness

This guideline, published by NICE, covers providing integrated health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. It aims to improve access to and engagement with health and social care, and ensure care is coordinated across different services.

Homelessness Monitor England 2020: COVID-19 Crisis Response Briefing

This briefing by Crisis reflects on the early lessons from the COVID crisis response, and looks ahead to the exit strategy.

Build, Build, Build – But Build Better: Tackling Homelessness with Quality and Focus

COVID-19 has marked a step change in thinking across different disciplines and contexts, and the pandemic has prompted many of us to consider those more vulnerable than ourselves. This holds particularly true for the homelessness crisis and the government’s response via the Next Steps Accommodation Programme. In this blog, Theodora Beckett and Will Polisano from Drum point out the need to now ensure a sustainable solution for move on into permanent housing.

Homelessness & Covid19: A Trigger for Values Change?

Dr Rachel Manning, Research Fellow, at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, considers the value of housing the homeless against the backdrop of Covid-19 and health inequalities. It suggests that, while the pandemic certainly halted many support services, it also generated unprecedented responses, especially for rough sleepers who were accommodated in a manner never before imaginable.

Health and Care Services for People Sleeping Rough: the views of people with lived experience

This report from the University of York and the King's Fund highlights the views of people with lived experience of rough sleeping on health and care services

Delivering health and care for people who sleep rough: going above and beyond

This King’s Fund report explored how four different local areas are delivering effective health and care services to people sleeping rough and what other areas might be able to learn from them.

The impact of homelessness on health: a guide for local authorities

This briefing aims to support local authorities through protecting and improving their population’s health and wellbeing, and by tackling issues associated with homelessness, reduce health inequalities.

Rebuilding Lives: Longer-Term Outcomes For Homeless People who are Resettled

For the first time in the UK, information has been collected about the longer-term outcomes for homeless people who are resettled. This research summary by King's College London examined their experiences...

Homeless Change and Platform for Life Funds 2015-2017

The Department of Health has announced a new £55 million homeless fund administered by the HCA and GLA over 2 years to upgrade existing accommodation and provide new housing. The money will be used...

Providing support to homeless people when leaving hospital: Proving the case

This Housing LIN Case Study no 94 looks at the work of the Hospital to Housing Support Services in Plymouth and Bournemouth which was run by the BCHA in partnership with Shelter in Bournemouth. Funded...

Evaluation of Plymouth Hospital to Housing Support Service

This report evaluates the DH funded project in Plymouth to ensure people who are homeless and complex needs, or have no appropriate accommodation to go to, receive the support they need when leaving...

Health and Homelessness: Understanding the costs and role of primary care services for homeless people

This report by St Mungo's concludes that better knowledge about how homeless people use primary healthcare services is needed to ensure they receive the best treatment possible and valuable NHS resources...

Improving hospital admission and discharge for people who are homeless

This report was commissioned by the Department of Health to support the delivery of the commitment made by the Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness in their 'Vision to End Rough Sleeping' report,...

Healthcare for single homeless people

This paper presents the results of analysis aimed at better understanding the health needs and relative healthcare costs of people who are homeless or living in certain types of insecure or short-term...

Homelessness Prevention and Hospital Discharge: Three Case Studies

This Housing LIN Case Study No 46 is a set of three case studies exploring ways in which housing authorities and hospital trusts are addressing the issue of discharge of homeless people and how they...

Hospital Admission and Discharge: People who are homeless or living in temporary or insecure accommodation

A partnership of Homeless Link, the Homelessness Group of the London Network for Nurses, the Department of Local Government and Communities and Department of Health produced joint guidelines to support...

Achieving positive shared outcomes in health & homelessness

Published by the Homelessness and Housing Support Directorate this report outlines why joint planning between local government, health and other partners is essential in improving outcomes for homeless...

Getting involved with health - an introduction for homelessness professionals

This Housing LIN Briefing No19 is a joint publication between the Department of Health, Homeless Link and the Housing Learning and Improvement Network. It sets out ways in which homelessness professionals...

The Road to Recovery - feasibility study into homelessness and intermediate care

Produced for a Homeless Intermediate Care Steering Group established in Lambeth, this report explores how to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and avoid delayed discharges of homeless people. It...

Prevention of homelessness - the role of health & social care

This Housing LIN briefing No11 describes practical steps that can be taken by health and social care staff to prevent individuals becoming homeless. It also suggests policies and procedures that will...

Healthy hostels, healthy lifestyles for hostel residents

Housing LIN Report - A guide to improve the health and well-being of homeless and vulnerable people. This guide describes the health problems faced by homeless people and how to improve their health,...