Homeless people need more help

More must be done to help homeless people access mental health services, a new report has concluded.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland has made a series of recommendations after a study revealed barriers facing those who need support.

The commission spoke to 43 homeless people about their experiences in accessing services for homelessness and mental ill-health.

Of the group, more than half said they experienced depression, 20 had experienced sexual or physical abuse, 14 had been in care and almost half had spent some time in prison.

The report found some homeless people faced “significant” difficulties in getting registered with a GP while those diagnosed with both mental ill-health and addiction issues sometimes had difficulty in getting help.

The commission heard access to psychiatric services could be “very difficult” to arrange, particularly out of hours.

Almost half of those spoken to also said they felt discriminated against, particularly by private landlords.

Kate Fearnley, executive director of engagement and participation at the commission, said: “This is a small-scale study through which we wanted to hear the views of just some of this particularly vulnerable group of people.

“We found that some people were receiving the care and treatment they needed, but others were not, or had difficulty accessing it.

“We saw engaged and committed staff in homelessness services supporting people with significant mental health needs but lacking direct referral routes to psychiatric and psychological services.

“We heard that the only way of accessing those services was via a GP, but there could be barriers to registering.

“We also heard that there is a disconnect between mental health services and substance misuse services, and some people who need both may get neither. This issue has been recognised by government as an area in need of improvement in its new mental health strategy.”

The report calls on NHS boards and social care partnerships to improve access to GPs and have greater consideration of the needs of homeless people.