17 September 2010
A project targeting the homeless population in Lambeth has been deemed a success for reducing hospital admissions and improving health outcomes for clients.
The homeless intermediate care pilot ran from January 2009 to December 2009. The project is funded until March 2011 and is a joint partnership between Lambeth Community Health's Three Boroughs Homeless Team, St Mungo's Cedars Hostel and a Clapham GP practice, the Courtyard surgery.
The intermediate care project for homeless people addresses the complex and multiple health needs of this client group, and has already gained national recognition from the Department of Health*.
The main purpose of the project was to reduce deaths and ill health in homeless clients at the Cedars hostel, whilst also reducing hospital admissions.
The project aimed to enable clients to engage with the specialist services, such as liver services, HIV services, mental health services, dentistry and many more. By enabling clients to re-engage with these services hospital missed appointment rates were reduced by 22 per cent.
Many other positives arose as a result of the project, such as a 77 per cent reduction in hospital admissions and a 52 per cent reduction in Accident and Emergency attendances in the hostel population.
Of the clients seen during the pilot, many had high risk conditions:
During the pilot project year 34 clients benefited.
Carmen Rojas, Head of Three Boroughs Services, said: "The project has been found to be cost efficient overall, with improved health outcomes for clients. This is a major achievement for our service.
"The independent report has shown that the project has been an outstanding success, demonstrating that real differences can be made to health outcomes in this client group.
"Overall it has reduced inequalities by providing access to intermediate care services for a social excluded group."
Peter Cockersell, Director of Health and Recovery at St Mungo's, said: "Homeless people experience a higher rate of health problems, have poorer access to healthcare, and in many cases do not seek early healthcare intervention.
"St Mungo's aims to provide a truly client centered approach to those individuals we support. This project forms part of a three year health strategy developed to deliver real and improved change in the health of homeless people. We were delighted to work in partnership with Lambeth Community Health on this project and will continue to work with our local NHS partners as effectively as possible across London and the south."
ENDS
For further information, contact Judith Higgin, St Mungo's, on 020 8762 5645 or Kayleigh Hellewell, NHS Lambeth, 020 3049 4161.
Note to editors:
* The project has already gained national recognition in DH national papers, such as Inclusion Health: Improving Primary Care for Socially Excluded People
It has also featured in the Guardian's Society section.