Rough sleepers in towns with high rates of homelessness are to
benefit from specialist NHS mental health care across the
country.
A total of 14 new outreach teams are starting work to increase
the total across the country to 37, exceeding the NHS Long Term
Plan target of 20 by 2023/24.
Around 100 people a week are already receiving support from
specialist mental health practitioners and other experts
including advice and treatment to tackle underlying mental ill
health.
This includes Michael, 48, who was helped by the team in Hull and
said he “used to dread waking up in the morning and now I can’t
wait to get up”.
There are an estimated 3,069 people sleeping rough on any given
night in England, according to government figures.
Common mental health conditions – such as depression, anxiety,
and panic disorder – are over twice as high among homeless
people, with psychosis up to 15 times as high.
Research shows people are around 50% more likely to have spent
over a year sleeping rough if they are also experiencing mental
ill health.
The new NHS-led teams will bring together doctors, nurses and
other clinicians to co-ordinate treatment and support with other
local organisations including councils and charities.
The new services are part of co-ordinated efforts to ensure that
rough sleepers have better access to NHS mental health support –
joining up care with existing outreach, accommodation, drug and
alcohol and physical healthcare services.
In each area, outreach teams – comprising NHS and local authority
staff – will identify rough sleepers in need of help, support
them to access a GP and then on to the new expert mental health
support and care.
Professor Tim Kendall, NHS England clinical national director for
mental health, said:
“As part of a drive to tackle health inequalities, the NHS is
opening more than a dozen mental health clinics so that homeless
people can access specialist support in a convenient location.
“NHS teams working with local authorities will seek out rough
sleepers who have often been through incredibly traumatic
experiences to ensure they get the help they need – and do not
fall through the cracks.
“While the NHS cannot solve homelessness on its own, we are
trying to reach out to homeless people and working hard to ensure
that those who need mental health support get it. To do that, we
are making it as easy as possible to access services, designed
and built around patients’ needs.”
The mental health care will sit alongside existing support for
rough sleepers, including for example, one to one support from a
specified caseworker who can help with everything from housing
advice to attending NHS appointments – and will keep in contact
with the patient for as long as is required.
This new funding is worth £3.2million and will be used over the
next year to build and scale up comprehensive services
across:
-
Brent
-
Westminster and
Camden
-
Somerset
-
Devon
-
Medway
-
Slough, Windsor and
Maidenhead
-
Surrey
Heartlands
-
Peterborough
-
Great
Yarmouth
-
Hereford and
Worcestershire
-
Shropshire and Telford and
Wrekin
-
East
Riding
-
Sheffield and
Doncaster
-
Greater
Manchester
Case Study: The clinic based at Miranda House in Hull opened in
January 2020 thanks to NHS funding. The clinic helps people like
Michael, 48, who was found rough sleeping in a shop doorway when
he came to the attention of the Homeless Mental Health Team who
offered him support. Michael described the impact the clinic had
on his life:
Michael said: “I really was at the gates of hell. I think losing
my father had a massive effect on me although I hadn’t really
grieved properly. I was numb, emotionally and physically, and
when I think back, I realised I didn’t have long left to live. My
support workers tell me I was on their radar because I was at
risk of death.
“On Christmas Day 2021 I stopped everything bad. Drugs, drink,
tablets – everything finished. Even though I was getting so much
help from the teams I was doing my own bit as well.
“I started believing in myself and my confidence and now I’m
about 90% of what I want to be.
“I used to dread waking up in the morning and now I can’t wait to
get up.”
