Catherine McKinnell has backed the work of St Mungo’s Broadway, in their campaign to improve the poor health experienced by homeless people.
The Newcastle North MP attended a recent event in Parliament where clients and supporters of the homelessness charity delivered a 12,000 strong petition calling on the Government to urgently improve healthcare for homeless people.
St Mungo’s Broadway launched the Homeless Health Matters campaign last October, with their report Homeless Health Matters: the case for change. This highlighted the shocking national statistics that:
• 73% of homeless people report a physical health problem
• 80% report a mental health problem
• The average age of death for a homeless person is 47
• 53% of homeless women, and 34% of homeless men, have attempted suicide at least once
• Many homeless people struggle to register with a GP, often due to not being able to provide a permanent address
• The annual cost of hospital treatment for homeless people is at least £85million a year
Since the St Mungo’s report was launched, some 35 Health and Wellbeing Boards across the country have signed up as supporters of the Charter for Homeless Health – including Newcastle, Gateshead and Durham in the North East.
This commits local partners to work with homelessness services and homeless people to identify the health needs of people who are homeless in their area; to provide leadership on addressing homeless health; and to ensure that local health services meet the needs of homeless people and are welcoming and easily accessible.
Catherine said:
‘I’m really pleased that Newcastle has committed to tackling the health of homeless people because the figures highlighted by St Mungo’s are just appalling. It’s clear that people who are homeless experience unacceptably poor health, but are still struggling to get the healthcare they need.
‘The Government must act to improve this situation across the country, and ensure that health services are accessible and welcoming to some of the most vulnerable people in society.’