The UK needs to improve access to primary care for the homeless to reduce their high rate of hospital emergency admissions, according to a new study. Researchers at Manchester University found that homeless people experience twice the rate of emergency admissions of those with homes.

Homeless people with preventable problems, caused by conditions such as asthma and diabetes, had 1.65 times the rate of hospital admission for these problems as people with homes, according to the study, reported in BMJ Open. Researchers studied hospital records over a six year period.

Researcher Charlie Moss said: “There is likely to be a complex array of factors which lead to the differences we observe. But other research suggests that people experiencing homelessness face barriers to healthcare because services are less accessible to them. There is a perception that stigma and discrimination from health professionals may lead to poor or delayed engagement with services. People experiencing homelessness often face many complex challenges making it harder for them to use services and for health care professionals to manage conditions that may need multiple appointments.”

Professor Matt Sutton, from the University, said that strengthen support in emergency departments could also help. He said: “Addressing structural factors such as improved access to primary care could potentially reduce some of these admissions.However, the fact that only 11% of the additional emergency admissions experienced by the cohort including people experiencing homelessness were ambulatory care-sensitive suggests that other approaches are also needed if the goal is to reduce hospital admissions for people experiencing homelessness.”

A recent discussion of Institute of General Practice Management members revealed the different ways that practices register people who do not have an address. Some use local churches and others use local charities, such as the Salvation Army, to provide an address. Some practices use their own address while others use the local Jobcentre.