Agenda item

Report ACH24-012

The Board considered a report providing an overview of the Bromley Homeless Health Project and an update on the progress made so far.

The Project Officer advised Board Members that the Bromley Homeless Health Project was a collaboration between the Local Authority, NHS, and the voluntary and community sector to provide a health and wellbeing Clinic for Bromley’s’ homeless community. It was a joint initiative sponsored by LBB Public Health and funded by the local ICB. An assessment and triage Clinic for homeless clients was opened in March 2023, located within Bromley Homeless Shelter – it was due to operate until March 2026. It was staffed by a full time Nurse Practitioner, supported by a Care Co-ordinator, who employed through the Bromley GP Alliance. The project scope included those being housed in temporary accommodation, sofa surfing or rough sleeping.

The aim was to work with the homeless community to build confidence, through trusted relationships with health professionals, to encourage better understanding of their own health status and to facilitate access to mainstream services. LBB Public Health had adopted the approach of tackling the wider social determinants of health, in collaboration with other council departments, grounded by experience gained from operating seasonal winter homeless clinics. This approach was underpinned by the Council’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy that had a stated ambition to ‘tackle identified health inequalities and achieve real and measurable improvements’. It was noted that data collection had commenced in order to evaluate the project, and they were working towards the year two milestones. Further information was available via the following link: BGPA in partnership with Bromley Homeless | Bromley GP Alliance

In response to questions, the Assistant Director for Public Health said that the project had confirmed that there were two major areas, podiatry/foot care and dentistry, which needed to remain a focus. They were continuing to work with the ICB in relation to this, and discussion around dental care were ongoing. It was noted that during conversations with the homeless clients it was apparent that they were appreciative of having coordinated care all in one place. They were offered advice in terms of supporting their own health – the aim of the project was for people to understand their health status and navigate the health system to get care at the right time. One of the outcome of the project was to establish a charter so homeless people could go to general practices and access care. In response to further questions, the Consultant in Public Health said that 21 surgeries across the borough had signed up to the Safe Surgeries scheme to take people from the homeless community. They were working towards increasing this number and those already involved were sharing their experiences. In terms of dentistry, they were in the early stages of discussions with the community dental service. It was noted that the current contract, which would be refreshed in a couple of years’ time, did not include homeless patients. They were looking to set something up in the interim, and active discussions were taking place to try and move this forwards in the next financial year. The Chairman asked that the Board be kept informed regarding the interim measures to provide dental services for homeless clients.

A Member asked how the needs of those placed in temporary accommodation outside of the borough were being addressed. The Project Officer said that this was an aim of the navigation tool that would be a milestone development in year two of the project. It was recognising that a considerable proportion of residents were provided with temporary accommodation outside of the borough, and giving them a tool to be empowered to navigate their health when they move away from the local networks. They were in discussions with regards to connecting those that moved away into the local health networks. It was noted that an advantage of the project was that the voluntary sector had lots of links beyond the borough, and they were in contact with other homeless shelters across the country.

A Board Member noted that the Bromley Homeless Health Project had already been recognised, in partnership with Bromley Homeless Charity, with an award for Homeless Project of the Year from Affordable Homes and extended congratulations. In response to questions, the Bromley Place Executive Director said that different models of projects were being delivered across South East London – there was not a single strategy in place as there were differing levels of need and engagement. The Chairman noted that the meeting of the London Health and Wellbeing Board Chairs could provide an opportunity to showcase the work being undertaken and learn what other boroughs were doing. The Assistant Director advised that the Nurse Practitioner had been attending networks which allowed the sharing of best practice.

A Member advised that they had recently visited the Bromley Homeless Health Project and asked what they would like help with – the response had been their own permanent building and signage to help people locate them. Staff had also said they would like to receive more visits and Councillors were encouraged to do so in order to listen to clients and meet with staff and volunteers. It was requested that an update on the Bromley Homeless Health Project be provided at a future meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

The Assistant Director also informed the Board that the Bromley Homeless Health Project had been shortlisted as a finalist in the iESE Annual Public Sector Transformation Awards 2024, within the ‘Working Together’ awards category. The overall winner would be announced at the award ceremony on 6^th March 2024.

The Chairman thanked the Assistant Director of Public Health, Project Officer and Consultant in Public Health for their update on the Bromley Homeless Health Project.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.