St James's is one of the hospitals trialling the scheme. Image: Eamonn Farrell/Rollingnews.ie St James's is one of the hospitals trialling the scheme. Image: Eamonn Farrell/Rollingnews.ie A NEW SCHEME funded by the HSE will aim to improve the healthcare and supports offered to homeless people when they present to hospitals for treatment.
The numbers do not definitively indicate the exact number of homeless people who were discharged from hospital, as the numbers could indicate repeat cases.Overall, this adds up to 2,266 patient discharges over this seven-year period where the patient listed their address as no fixed abode when leaving hospital.
Dr Clíona Ní Cheallaigh is an infectious diseases and internal medicine physician at St James’s Hospital. This pilot project is being initially rolled out at St James’s and the Mater Hospital in Dublin.“It’s much higher than that,” Dr Ní Cheallaigh said. “We’d often have cases where someone who is homeless will give an old address. Or you’ll have people giving the hostel they’re in as an address.
It’s basic things. There was one man recently who had cirrhosis. He was staying in a hostel which was closed during the day. He wasn’t taking the tablets he was prescribed because he had no access to a toilet during the day. Dr Ní Cheallaigh said the pilot scheme was about ensuring that homeless people requiring healthcare are given it in a dignified manner, and offered the right supports when they exit the healthcare system.
When a person presents in an emergency department who is homeless, the scheme will see them referred to this team where they can put the correct supports in place.