The Care Group is proud to support a new drive to help homeless people access healthcare and to stay as well as possible during the winter.
The award-winning 'My Right to Healthcare' cards, produced by Groundswell in partnership with the NHS in London, are being distributed to people who are homeless across London – explaining how they can access healthcare from a local GP without ID, proof of address or confirmed immigration status. NHS England has committed to distributing these cards to those outside of London in 2020.
Too often, people who are homeless think that they aren't able to register at a GP practice and get an appointment because of this. While there are already some specialist GP services for rough sleepers, it is hoped that this initiative will help improve access to care – with nearly a third of all deaths of homeless people caused by easily treatable health conditions.
So far, Groundswell has distributed 75,000 cards through homelessness organisations across London, with another 20,000 going out this winter.
If you're an organisation supporting homeless people and based outside of London that would like to distribute cards in your local area: please click here
