Homeless people are denied basic health care

A study led by the University of Birmingham has painted a shaming picture of neglect and discrimination shown towards the homeless when accessing UK health services.

Some of the study participants shared accounts of casual neglect, discrimination, and inadequate resources across general practice, accident and emergency departments, and mental health services. They also reported being denied registration at a GP, while others said they were discharged from hospital onto the streets with no access or referral to primary care providers.

Published in in the British Journal of General Practice, the study is released as homeless charity Shelter claims there are over 320,000 homeless people in the UK and the number of rough sleepers in some urban areas has doubled in the last six years.

The paper emphasised the importance of spreading good practice, and educating and informing healthcare workers about the rights and needs of our homeless population.

Dr Vibhu Paudyal, of the University of Birmingham’s School of Pharmacy, said: “Stories of homeless people being denied access to mainstream GP services were so far anecdotal which our study sadly validates as the truth. Perceived stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings seems to be even more persistent and shows how much work needs to be done to make primary care more inclusive for homeless people.

“Our study participants found access to mental health and substance misuse services often challenging as many have dual diagnoses. While specialist healthcare services that are established across the country offer these patients some comfort, exclusion from healthcare pushed some of our study participants into repeat cycles of homelessness.

“Improving access and inclusivity and prevention work particularly during an earlier stage in the homelessness cycle is the only way forward to alleviate the health impact of homelessness, its repeat cycle, and thereby to minimise homeless people’s use of emergency department admissions and prevent unnecessary deaths.”