Viv Bennett highlighted the role community nurses can play in improving public health outcomes for the homeless, in a speech at the QNI's annual conference today.
Viv Bennett highlighted the role community nurses can play in improving public health outcomes for the homeless, in a speech at the QNI's annual conference today.
The DH's Director of Nursing stated that primary care nurses have a major part to play in treating the homeless, saying: 'There is not another room full of nurses working on this. It is up to us to treat the homeless.'
She also referred to the DH's public health framework that can be used to guide and support treatment of the most vulnerable patients. This framework was first showcased at the Personalised Care and Population Health conference in Birmingham in July. Professor Bennett described it as a 'menu' in contrast to a rigid list of recommendations.
The QNI has been actively involved in supporting nurses treating the homeless, recently releasing a set of resources through their Homeless Health Network, http://www.qni.org.uk/for_nurses/homeless_health.