'The drama-documentary Cathy Come Home shocked the country, but almost 60 years on the crisis of homelessness is as bad as ever, or even worse,' said George Galloway. 'The average age of death for homeless people in the UK is 47, thirty years lower than the national average. This is a scandal and a tragedy in modern-day Britain. That's lower than in the poorest country in the world, Congo. We need urgent action now, which is why I am backing the campaign by the charity Crisis in its campaign Homelessness Kills and lobbying the health minister Jeremy Hunt for urgent remedies.'
Galloway pointed out that research by the University of Sheffield for homelessness charity Crisis showed that the average age of death for homeless people is 47, thirty years lower than the national average.
He backed them in asking for:
- The delivery of mainstream health services to be reformed to better meet the needs of homeless people, for example ensuring that vulnerable homeless people are easily able to register with GPs and that no-one is discharged from hospital without accommodation and support;
- Specialist services to be protected and new services to be commissioned by the National Commissioning Board and local Clinical Commissioning Groups, for example services to find and treat tuberculosis and help those with a dual diagnosis of both alcohol and mental health needs;
- The health needs of homeless people to be made a priority in the restructure of the NHS and in particular for the Care Quality Commission to review healthcare for homeless people and recommend improvements;
'These are some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society and we can't just walk by,' Galloway added. 'These are sensible and low-cost measures which would save many lives. I hope that Jeremy Hunt sees the justice.'
