Barriers and facilitators to accessing health and social care services for people living in homeless hostels: a qualitative study of the experiences of hostel staff and residents in UK hostels

INTRODUCTION: The number of people living in homeless hostels in the UK has steadily increased over the past decade. Despite people experiencing homelessness often having considerable health problems and a range of complex needs frequently in association with addictions, the experiences of hostel staff and residents especially in relation to accessing health and social care support have seldom been explored. The aim of this paper is to identify the barriers and facilitators to accessing health and social care services for people living in homeless hostels. DESIGN: Exploratory qualitative baseline data were collected as part of an intervention to facilitate palliative care in-reach into hostels. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Interviews were conducted with 33 participants; 18 homeless hostel managers/support staff and 15 people experiencing homelessness, from six homeless hostels in London and Kent. RESULTS: Three themes were identified (1) internal and external service barriers to health and social care access due to stigma, lack of communication and information sharing from services and assumptions around capacity and the role of the hostel, (2) the impact of lack of health and social care support on hostel staff leading to burnout, staff going beyond their job role and continuous support given to residents, (3) potential facilitators to health and social care access such in-reach and support from those who understand this population and hostel staff training. DISCUSSION: Residents have multiple complex needs yet both hostel staff and residents face stigma and barriers accessing support from external services. Positive relationships were described between hostel residents and staff, which can be an essential step in engaging with other services. People experiencing homelessness urgently need better access to person-centred, trauma-informed support ideally via in-reach from people who understand the needs of the population.