Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness

This guideline, published by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Excellence (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.

This guideline includes recommendations on ways to improve access to and engagement with health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness, covering the following themes:

• General principles and planning and commissioning
• Multidisciplinary service provision, including homelessness multidisciplinary teams, homelessness leads and intermediate care
• Improving access to and engagement with services, including outreach, the role of peers and long-term support
• Assessing individual needs
• Transitions between different settings and providing housing with health and social care support afeguarding
• Staff support and development

This guidance was designed for local authorities, commissioners and providers of services, healthcare practitioners in primary, secondary and tertiary care, social care practitioners and people who experience homelessness, their families, advocates, and the public.

It aims to integrate services as much as possible as a way to improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness and contribute to ending homelessness.