Number of homeless deaths rising throughout the country

On average more than one person is dying every single week

THE death of a man sleeping rough in Charnwood last year was among rising numbers across the country.

With the numbers of deaths spiralling by 600% nationally in five years, one NHS doctor has said Tory austerity measures are “killing” the homeless on Britain’s streets.

Dr Tim Worthley says people are dying needlessly, without dignity, slumped on pavements and in parks as a direct consequence of years of cuts to social housing budgets and mental health care, plus increased benefits sanctions.

In Charnwood, the council reported one death of a rough sleeper in February 2017, a man aged 45. The council said he had previous contact with housing service, but no active homeless application at time of death.

The council previously recorded the deaths of one woman aged 42 in December 2016, and a man aged 24 in February 2015.

According to Freedom of Informa- tion requests sent to every council and police force in Britain asking how many rough sleepers had died on their streets, over the five years to 2017, 182 have lost their lives in this inhumane way – 63 last year compared to 10 in 2013. On average, more than one person every single week.

However, just under half of councils weren’t able to provide any numbers because they don’t even keep records.

They are not required to – and rarely carry out a Safeguarding Adult Review on how the death could be prevented after a homeless person dies.

Dr Worthley, who leads GP practice Arch Healthcare for the homeless in Brighton, told the Daily Mirror he regularly begins his day with a call from the coroner informing him yet another of his patients is dead – and ends it fearing patients won’t live to make their next appointment.

He says: “It’s insane, the number of people dying who really don’t need to die.

“I am utterly convinced the government strategy to reduce the deficit, austerity, is killing people.

“I look at my patients and think we could have done something in the weeks before your death which would have prevented you from dying. The council, the community, providing somewhere safe to stay, providing more support around your drinking or substance misuse, providing more mental health support.

“But that wasn’t provided and then you went on to use that lethal amount of drugs, or you spent too many nights outside.

“Every time I see someone I don’t know if I will see them again,” he adds.

In 2017, 4,751 people were estimated to be sleeping rough in England on any given night - an increase of 169% since 2010.

Seaside town Brighton was second only to Westminster, London, in the last count of rough sleepers.

But Dr Worthley, 39, explains the shocking numbers are just the tip of the iceberg.

They do not include the wider spectrum of homeless who died in often poor standard emergency accommodation, hostels – now in slim supply - or sofa surfing with friends and family.

He explains many deaths are due to drug overdoses, chest and liver-related problems – but generally, a combination of physical and mental health problems plus substance misuse; vulnerabilities all worsened by sleeping rough.

Tragically, the average life expectancy for a man on the streets is just 47 – and for a woman, 43.

“They had all those issues and they all kept getting worse,” he explains. “Where do you begin? That’s where they can be let down by mainstream services – especially at the moment, the NHS mainstream services are struggling to do even the basic stuff.”

An enormous 70% of homeless people have personality disorders, or complex PTSD, the result of trauma when young – compared to 4% of regular society.

A recent report by homeless charity St Mungo’s found an increase in those sleeping rough who have died with mental health issues, and has called for the government to include more mental health services in their upcoming rough sleeper strategy, due next month.

Dr Worthley agrees mental health support is too tough to access, and often his patients with substance abuse issues are turned down because their needs are “too complex”.

“There isn’t the capacity to manage that complexity anymore. You’re screwed,” he says, angrily.

“All those layers put in to support them have been stripped away one by one so these people have been thrown by the wayside. They are dying because of it.”

He adds: “We spend a lot of time trying to talk people out of killing themselves.

“I often find myself saying to patients ‘Please try and stay alive and we will hopefully find something for you.’”

In April the government passed its Homelessness Reduction Act which aims to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it by 2027. Money has been allocated to the worst-hit areas.

But Dr Worthley says after stripping millions away, what they are offering is a “drop in the ocean”.