The Healthy London Partnership launches the ‘The London Health Podcast’ today, with homeless health and challenges around NHS hospital discharge the theme for this month’s episode.
Length of stay for homeless people are around three times longer and around 70% of rough sleepers are discharged back onto the street, further damaging their health and costing the NHS in a revolving door of health needs.
People experiencing homelessness are among the most vulnerable and isolated in our society, with the poorest health outcomes. Traditional systems of health and care often struggle to meet their needs. Consequently, they are more likely to die young, with an average age of death of 44 for men and 42 for women.
The episode looks at improving access to healthcare and the capacity and capability of the system to respond to the needs of people who are homeless, to improve their health and reduce their hospital admissions.
Participants included:
- Jemma Gilbert, Director of Transformation, Healthy London Partnership
- Olani Nemera, Peer Advocate, Groundswell
- Kendra Schneller, Nurse Practitioner (Health Inclusion Team), Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
- Adrian McLachlan, Chair, Lambeth CCG and GP Partner at Hetherington Practice
- Jane Cook, National Advisor on Homeless Health for the Government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative
- James Thornton, Senior Communications Manager, Healthy London Partnership
You can listen to the London Health Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and SoundCloud.
Read more about what we’re doing with our partners with the aim of improving access to healthcare and the capacity and capability of the system to respond to the needs of people who are homeless.
