NHS must 'up its game' on homeless people's mental health

Providers need to offer a more flexible approach and increase efforts such as outreach services delivered to homeless people where they live and stay, according to the NHS Confederation’s mental health network and homelessness charity St Mungo’s.

Their joint report reveals the number of people sleeping rough have risen by 23 per cent nationally since 2010 to 2,200 and many thousands more are staying in shelters, homeless hostels or other temporary accommodation.

The report suggests the NHS offers more drop-in clinics and delivers services in hostels.

It argues the NHS also needs to do better at staying in contact with homeless people and should work more effectively with other specialist services such as alcohol dependency clinics.

Up to 70 per cent of people who use homelessness services have a mental health problem.

Mental health network director Steve Shrubb said: “We have to recognise the way we support homeless people has to improve. We must up our game.

“Services need to be provided where homeless people are. We need to get better at maintaining relationships with people once they make contact. We also need to work more effectively with other services.”

Peter Cockersell, St Mungo’s director of health and recovery, said: “Nobody with a mental health condition should end up sleeping rough. We would strongly urge people to read the report and act on it.”