Tom has suffered with long-term alcohol dependency, ongoing mental health issues, and experiences PTSD from childhood abuse and violence. Having been in-and-out of services for many years, Tom had an extensive history of offending and found services difficult to access. Tom also had a history of self-harm, often presenting as suicidal in hospital.
Following the death of his father, Tom’s drinking escalated resulting in him being homeless for around one year. Often rough sleeping in town, Tom had 37 hospital encounters, including 13 admissions, over this period.
After serving a short sentence at HMP Hull and being released to ‘No Fixed Abode’, Tom was flagged to the Hull Homeless Health Service (HHS). Within 12 hours of his release, he was in the Emergency Department (ED) after being found intoxicated in the street.
The HHS team focused on building a trusting relationship with Tom and were able to get him admitted to a medical ward, giving them the opportunity to consider housing options with the aim of getting Tom off the street and breaking the cycle of frequent ED attendance.
As part of this, the HHS team presented his case at a Changing Futures meeting and worked to secure him a placement at a small complex needs hostel, which he had previously not been able to access. The HHS team also worked with specialist services to help Tom break the cycle of drinking, which allowed him to remain in the hospital.
Tom was eventually discharged to the hostel with the team providing transport and arranging for the Changing Futures team to greet him on arrival. Unfortunately, Tom began drinking again after a few weeks in the hostel and was eventually readmitted to the hospital. This time round, Tom avoided drinking during his admission and engaged more willingly with the support available, accepting all the treatment offered.
After Tom expressed his desire to return to the hostel, the Team facilitated ongoing contact between the two. As a result, Tom was able to return to the hostel after being discharged. Since then, Tom has not been back to hospital and is engaging positively with all services, and has plans to look at attending rehab in the long-term.