Welsh clients fail to get health care

Homeless people in Wales experience major difficulties in accessing general health care and specialist substance misuse and mental health services, a new report says.

More than two-fifths of 60 homelessness projects surveyed for Homeless Link Cymru said their clients found it hard or very hard to access drug and alcohol services.

And 62 per cent said it was difficult for them to engage with community mental health teams.

Clients with dual diagnosis had the most difficulties. In some areas, no residential drug services were available for homeless people.

With the exception of Cardiff, where there is a dedicated homelessness GP practice, one in five clients found it hard to register with a GP, mainly because practices had insisted clients had permanent addresses.