Wednesday 24 July 2024
Vital free learning resources ‘empowering healthcare and homelessness support worker collaboration’ is being backed by The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM).
A video (embedded below), podcast and posters created by Homeless Link, a membership charity for organisations working directly with people who become homeless, and homeless and inclusion health charity Pathway, are promoting a unified approach to care supported by free eLearning.
The online course, ‘Supporting people experiencing homelessness in an accident and emergency setting’, brought RCEM and Pathway together to connect the work of homelessness workers and A&E staff to reduce the impact that social depravation has on fast and effective care.
Dr Adrian Boyle, RCEM President, said: “Anyone coming into an A&E should get the same level of care. Overcoming these barriers means we can go further to alleviate the extreme toll that homelessness has on health.
“Limited access to health services means these people suffer far worse health conditions than the average population.
“This is why our collaboration with these vital charities to empower healthcare and homelessness support workers with the tools to connect services takes equitable care a step further.”
The eLearning course covers challenges for patients attending Emergency Departments who often have chronic health issues due to barriers of accessing care such as homelessness.
Those registering for the course will learn about self-discharge, self-neglect, complex mental capacity assessments and quality improvement in Emergency Departments.
Dr Adrian Boyle, RCEM President, added: “These learning resources can help provide effective care that brings us closer to providing vulnerable patients with treatment and access to support outside the hospital faster.
“That is especially important given the crisis our emergency care system is facing, and with winter fast approaching, those who are without the certainty of a roof over their head are more vulnerable than ever.”
Alex Bax, Chief Executive of Pathway, commented: “For people experiencing homelessness a visit to A&E can be hugely challenging, whist at the same time staff may feel insufficiently informed or equipped to offer such patients the best possible support.
“Featuring the vital input of lived experience voices, these new videos and resources highlight the many actions both support workers and A&E staff can take to improve outcomes for this vulnerable group, as well as develop more impactful ongoing relationships between services.
“Crucially, the resources also build on our existing free e-learning on supporting homeless patients in A&E, developed with the invaluable support of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.”
A&E support for people experiencing homelessness video from Homeless Link on Vimeo:
