This paper (originally published in The British Journal of Healthcare Management 22(8): 405-413) explores the provision of specialist short-stay accommodation for homeless patients who might benefit from additional care following illness or injury. In some cases, without this extra care the initial clinical intervention would be wasted and/or the patient won’t have a chance to recover.
This paper considers a range of models of care currently in use across the UK, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in relation to their possible application in south London, where Pathway KHP, the UK’s largest hospital homelessness team, operates.