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Transforming out-of-hospital care for people who are homeless

Transforming out-of-hospital care for people who are homeless cover

This support tool & briefing note complements the High Impact Change Model  (HCIM) for transfers between hospital and home.

It draws on the findings of an evaluation of the Homeless Hospital Discharge Fund (HHDF) to show how the HICM can be sensitised to meet the needs of patients who are homeless, and this can contribute to meeting Better Care Fund metrics. The HHDF funded 52 schemes to develop specialist discharge and ‘step-down’ services to tackle issues such as discharge to the street.

The evaluation, led by King’s College London, used a range of qualitative and quantitative methods to explore effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, exploring outcomes for over 3,882 people who used a HHD scheme. It found that homeless inpatients have five times the rate of emergency readmission and A&E visits after discharge from hospital compared to deprived housed patients with a similar medical profile.