What's new?

• See our new Joint Strategic Needs Assessments page
• Findings from our Survey of Needs and Provision related to physical health , including proportion of clients with physical health problems and the services available in projects surveyed.

• Findings from our Survey of Needs and Provision related to mental health , including reported proportion of clients with mental health problems and personality disorders by project type, and the availability of talking therapies and mental health support services in projects.

• Communities and Local Government and the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) have issued a policy briefing on Healthy lifestyles for hostel residents.

• Homeless Link response to DH consultation on Care Programme Approach

• Flu Season unfortunately... find out how you can help hostel residents or other clients get immunised, and complete a short questionnaire for the Department of Health about the flu immunisation programme.

• Homeless Health Initiative - support for nurses, midwives and health visitors working with homeless people, run by QNI

• Getting Through - Access to mental health services for people who are homeless or living in temporary or insecure accommodation - a good practice guide - jointly commissioned by the Department of Health and CLG - is designed to enable joint working and commissioning of mental health services.

• Framework for planning and commissioning of services related to health needs of people who are homeless or living in temporary or insecure accommodation - Published by CLG to enable joint working and commissioning.

• FEANTSA has produced its European report 2006 on access to health for people who are homeless.

• Hospital Admissions and Discharge Protocol has now been published which supports hospitals draw up their own protocols for the admission and discharge of people who are homeless. Also includes four supporting fact sheets.

Joint Strategic Needs Assessments

Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) are a new way of identifying local needs and inequalities, which will greatly influence strategic planning. It is therefore important that homelessness agencies get involved in their development. See our Joint Strategic Needs Assessments page on what they are and how you can get involved.

Health and Homelessness

The University of Oxford ran an Innaugural Health and Homelessness Conference on 18 September, in association with Homeless Link. A report summarising the day, including all workshops, is now available online. It has launched a Postgraduate Certificate in the Provision of Health Care to People Experiencing Homelessness. Download Course flyer. The first module, Key Concepts in Healthcare for Homeless People, is scheduled to run from May 2007.

A 2006 report from the Mental Health Foundation and Centrepoint, Making the Link between Mental Health and Youth Homelessness says that "increasing numbers of young homeless people with mental health problems are not getting adequate support because services rarely work together to provide the necessary help".

TB

Homeless people are particularly vulnerable to Tuberculosis (TB). Our TB pages contain details of work around TB.

Health Inclusion Project (HIP)

Our recent Health Inclusion Project addressed the access and inclusion that homeless people face.

• HIP Advisory Group Mission Statement

• Advisory Group members

Contact alice.evans@homelesslink.org.uk for more details.

Resources

• See our pages on smoking and homelessness

• Communities and Local Government and the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) have issued a number of briefings on homelessness, including a policy briefing on Prevention of Homelessness: the role of health and social care.

• The Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Portal

• Spotlight on Health - notes and presentations from 2007 good practice event

Read the latest news on health issues or search the Homeless Link website for resources on health.