Hospital Discharge and Pathways of Care for Homeless People
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Hospital Discharge and Pathways of Care for Homeless People who have attended Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust
IRAS ID
124221
Contact name
Martin Whiteford
Contact email
Research summary
In 2006 Homeless Link (the umbrella organisation for homelessness charities in England) in partnership with the Department of Health and the Department for Communities and Local Government developed the Hospital Admission and Discharge Protocol Guidelines. Following in the slipstream, Liverpool City Council and Liverpool PCT jointly produced and actively promoted the Liverpool Hospital Admission and Discharge Protocol. The Protocol makes clear the strong link between preventing homelessness and a planned hospital discharge.
This research project will therefore seek to gain a more informed understanding of the way in which the Liverpool Hospital Admission and Discharge Protocol contributes to better health and social care outcomes for people affected by homelessness in Liverpool. In order to realise these aims and objectives the study will demonstrate how statutory and voluntary sector providers interpret and implement the Liverpool Hospital Admission and Discharge Protocol. It will then work towards a more textured understanding of the hospital admission and discharge process from the vantage point of people who are themselves homeless.
The methodological standpoint advanced by this study will be qualitative. It is envisaged that data collection will unfold across three waves.
I. The first wave will involve shadowing the link hospital worker (a post funded by Liverpool PCT and provided by the Basement advisory service) and the specialist homelessness nurse based within the emergency department (ED) at the Liverpool Royal University Hospital. The purpose of this approach is to work towards a grounded understanding of the Liverpool Hospital Admission and Discharge Protocol.
II. The second wave of data collection will consist of two focus groups with staff involved in different stages of the hospital admission and discharge process in Liverpool: (1) ED clinicians and hospital-based case managers and (2) community-based health and social care practitioners.
III. The third wave of data collection will involve semi-structured interviews with 10 homeless people. Patients/service users’ will be interviewed within two weeks of discharge, and again after three months. This approach will allow us to track repeat admissions; health and well-being; housing status and ongoing engagement with specialist support services.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/NW/0375
Date of REC Opinion
19 Jun 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion