Part 1: How I ’m helping rough sleepers in London access healthcare

Doctors of the World UK (DOTW) is working to improve rough sleepers’ access to healthcare in the City of London. We have secured new funding from the City of London Corporation to run weekly outreach sessions until July 2021, in partnership with homeless charity St Mungo’s. The service is being led by our mobile clinic coordinator Dr Durga Sivasathiaseelan and follows a successful six-month pilot project. Durga shares her experience returning to the streets of London to support this vulnerable population. The city feels like it’s changed. Pubs, bars and restaurants are open again, and everyone is hanging outside drinking and eating. There’s much more of a presence of people in the city that just didn’t exist six weeks ago when lockdown restrictions were still in place and we were finishing our pilot project. The emptiness and quietness just aren’t there. We begin the outreach session at a hostel that has been housing rough sleepers during the pandemic. It initially had 30 beds but has been expanded to accommodate more people as other hotels have closed. “It’s heart-breaking to see anybody have to sleep on the street. The comfort of a bed is something that we all take for granted because we have it.” We ask the staff if there are any health concerns at the hostel and there is – a man with bad tooth pain. He’s in so much pain that he can’t eat. The man already has a medical appointment arranged for the next day but...
Source: Doctors of the World News - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Uncategorised Source Type: news