Homelessness in primary care: what helps, what harms

Send us a textHomelessness isn’t just “sleeping rough”, it’s far more common than most of us realise. In this special episode, Nik and Fi unpack why health outcomes are so stark (including a 30 year life expectancy gap) and how much of the harm is potentially modifiable with effective healthcare. You’ll hear about a shocking “mystery shopper” study that looked at primary care access. There are also some practical, doable changes for busy primary care: inclusive registration, reducing barriers at the front desk, being opportunistic with long‑term condition care and vaccines, simplifying medicines, safer prescribing when life is chaotic, and using a trauma‑informed approach that prioritises safety and trust. If you want one listen this week that will genuinely change how your team welcomes, registers and cares for some of the most vulnerable patients — press play now.Useful LinksPathway (focuses on homelessness and health inclusion) GP Trainee Essentials support package information, and the Red Whale CalendarSend us your feedback [email protected] or send a voice message Sign up to receive Pearls here. Pearls are available for 3 months from publish date. After this, you can get access them plus 100s more articles when you buy a one-day online course from Red Whale OR sign up to Red Whale Unlimited.  Find out more here. Follow us:  Facebook, Instagram, LinkedInDisclaimer: We make every effort to ensure the information in this podcast is accurate and correct at the date of publication, but it is of necessity of a brief and general nature, and this should not replace your own good clinical judgement, or be regarded as a substitute for taking professional advice in appropriate circumstances. In particular, check drug doses, side-effects and interactions with the British National Formulary. Save insofar as any such liability cannot be excluded at law, we do not accept any liability for loss of any type caused by reliance on the information in this podcast.