Agenda item

The Healthwatch report was entitled ‘Banking on a Meal’ and was presented by Folake Segun and Stephanie Wood.

Healthwatch highlighted the ‘Living Well Project’ based at Holy Trinity Church in Penge. Individuals attending the project were able to access a foodbank and various community services.  It was noted that at one session there were over 100 people in attendance. The project offered a hot meal, shower, food parcel, as well as art and music sessions. Bromley Drug and Alcohol Team were also present for those that needed advice. The Board were concerned to learn that many present suffered from mental health challenges, and lacked any form of clinical or familial support.

Healthwatch cited an example of an individual who had identified as homeless, and had previously been given a prescription for a course of treatment from a local drop in clinic. He had been unable to access the treatment as he was not registered with a GP. He had been turned down for registration by a local GP service because he did not have a permanent address. This happened despite the fact that it was no longer a legal requirement to have a permanent address to register with a GP. Healthwatch had to escalate the matter with the CCG and with NHS England before the matter was resolved; it was agreed that the church address could function as a temporary address for the client. 

There were 5 main points that had been highlighted by Healthwatch’s research:

1- Those suffering from financial hardship were more likely to suffer from lower standards of physical and mental wellbeing.

2- Zero hour contracts and insecure employment often left people with insufficient resources to support themselves and their families. This caused a dependency on local support such as food banks.

3- Lack of communication between services meant that people were susceptible to falling through the gaps. This was most evident with benefit processing and a delay in payments.

4- GP registration and access to primary care was severely restricted by a lack of permanent address, despite legislation stating that it was not a statutory requirement.

5- Those who were already at risk were unable to support themselves in day to day life, and as a result remained liable to further health complications. The is picked upon the discussion of the proposed sections for the 2017 JSNA. 

Colin Maclean referred to the proposed development of a Homeless Strategy, and requested an update concerning this. It was agreed that an update on the development of the strategy should come back to the Board.

Cllr Evans asked for clarification concerning the definition of ‘homeless’ in relation to the Healthwatch report. He stated that LBB had provided accommodation for homeless people in line with statutory obligations, and that as far as he was aware, there were currently less than 12 homeless people on the street. The basic problem was that more houses were required. He referred to section 9.3 of the report that recommended ‘additional council support and advocacy for those who are struggling to live independently to prevent people from entering the cycle of deprivation’. He stated that Council support and advice was already provided, and wondered what more the Council could do. Folake Segun from Healthwatch agreed that Council support was provided, but felt that it would be helpful if the public could be made more aware of how they could access services.

The Chairman noted that many of the recommendations had been presented to the CCG for consideration.

RESOLVED that the report be noted, and that an update on the development of the Homelessness Strategy be brought back to a future Board meeting.