A mobile health clinic providing health checks to people experiencing homelessness
Central Coast Primary Care is excited to announce Health on The Streets (HoTS), a Mobile Health Clinic that will provide health checks to people experiencing homelessness on the Central Coast.
HoTS combines homeless outreach and clinical care from a custom fitted medical van that will travel around the Central Coast and deliver healthcare to rough sleepers and people experiencing homelessness. HoTS was officially launched on Tuesday 10 March 2020.
Health on The Streets (HoTS) is an initiative brought about from years of campaigning for more services for people experiencing homelessness on the Central Coast and is made possible by funding secured through the Commonwealth Department of Health.
Central Coast Primary Care has a history of local homeless outreach and recognises the challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness; accessing basic healthcare being one of those challenges.
Central Coast Primary Care CEO, Michelle Bradbury says “People experiencing homelessness often face a range of barriers to accessing basic healthcare services, such as going to a GP. Practical barriers can include disengagement from healthcare services, inadequate or no identification, and poor trust in systems and processes. More importantly, personal barriers of illness including mental health and drug abuse, medication compliance and affordability of healthcare often means that healthcare is not a priority for homeless people.
This model of collaboration with existing homeless services and local health care providers such as general practices, allied health professionals and hospital emergency departments is key to improving the health and wellbeing of homeless people.”
Approximately 1 in 200 people experience homelessness in Australia, with over a third of the homeless population living in NSW and the Central Coast experiences three times higher than the national average for length of homelessness.
The launch of Health on The Streets saw local Politicians, Community Services Organisations, Health Professionals, and the community come together to celebrate this exciting and innovative new program. Michelle Bradbury says “The interest from local homeless services, healthcare providers and the general community on the Coast has been extraordinary and we believe that once established this program can be a whole of community approach – one where we can all make a difference.”
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