GP surgeries to open doors to the homeless

HOMELESS people will now be able to access immediate healthcare at GP surgeries in Greater Manchester – and it could be lifechanging.

Rough sleepers often struggle to see a doctor because they have no permanent address and find it difficult to register at a practice.

It means many homeless people are turned away from GP surgeries and they are often forced to go to A&E.

But ten surgeries will now open their doors in a project to improve access to NHS healthcare. They are:

Dam Head Medical Centre, Blackley, Manchester

Royton Medical Centre, Royton, Oldham

Longsight Medical Centre, Longsight, Manchester

Lime Square Medical Centre, Openshaw, Manchester

Fallowfield Medical Centre, Fallowfield, Manchester

Beacon Medical Centre, Victoria Avenue, Blackley

Medlock Medical Centre, Failsworth, Oldham

BARDOC out-ofhours, Prestwich walk-in centre, Bury

The Dale Medical Practice, Rochdale

BARDOC out-ofhours, Waters Meeting Health Centre, Bolton

The scheme, which launches this week, was founded by Beacon GP Care and will also involve BARDOC, which provides out-of-hours services in Bury, Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale and Bolton. ‘Survival kits’ will be handed out to rough sleepers, containing blankets, bottled water, sleeping bags, and a list of participating surgeries.

Dr Zahid Chauhan came up with the scheme. He said:“Not only are A&E departments busy, but they also don’t have information about the background problems, so they are basically just firefighting.

“I have seen a woman who had a minor leg infection, but she could not get to see anyone as she did not have a proof of address.

“All she needed was a course of antibiotics to make her leg better, but she struggled for weeks and weeks.”

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham – who has pledged to end rough sleeping in the region by 2020 – said the scheme could save the Dale Medical Practice at Nye Bevan House is part of the scheme which was though up by Dr Zahid Chauhan (inset) NHS money. “It is much cheaper for somebody to wander into a practice than to go into A&E,” he said.

“It makes sense to give people that care when they need it rather than letting it become a much greater problem.

“It is quite a sobering fact to realise that the average life expectancy for somebody rough sleeping or homeless is 47. I’m 47, so that really hits home hard for me and it’s why I am so personally committed to this.”