The GP role in improving outcomes for homeless inpatients

Homeless people experience extreme health inequalities and high rates of morbidity and mortality (Aldridge et al., 2017). Use of primary care services are low, while emergency healthcare use is high (Mathie, 2012; Homeless Link, 2014). Duration of admission has been estimated to be three times longer for homeless patients who often experience poor hospital discharge arrangements (Mathie, 2012; Homeless Link, 2014). This reflects ongoing and unaddressed care and housing needs (Blackburn et al., 2017). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper reveals how GPs employed in secondary care, as part of Pathway teams, support improved health and housing outcomes and safe transfer of care into community services. It draws on published literature on role of GPs in working with excluded groups, personal experience of working as a GP in secondary care, structured interviews with Pathway GPs and routine data collected by the team to highlight key outcomes.

The expertise of GPs is highlighted and includes holistic assessment, management of multimorbidity or “tri-morbidity” – the combination of addictions problems, mental illness and physical health (Homeless Link, 2014; Stringfellow et al., 2015) and research and teaching.

The role of the GP in the care of patients with complex needs is more visible in primary care. This paper demonstrates some of the ways in which in-reach GPs play an important role in the care of multiply excluded groups attending and admitted to secondary care settings.