Life in Salford 34 • August 2021 24
Helping homeless people The Inclusion Service is a GP service which supports people experiencing homelessness. The definition of being homeless is far wider than most people think and includes people who live in insecure or emergency accommodation and sofa surfers, as well as rough sleepers. The patient’s journey begins by registering with the service and the offer is an intensive package of support. It focuses on partnership, working with other professionals to address housing, hostels, and drop-in centres to ensure wrap around care. The aim is that when patients are ready, the service supports them in transitioning back to mainstream practices. The Inclusion Service team offers medical appointments in one of the fixed or outreach sites, takes part in monthly street walks with Salford City Council’s rough sleepers team, and there is a patient mobile number to message or phone to avoid queues. The service has been installed at Salford Royal Hospital, working closely with A&E colleagues. It will identify people who frequently attend A&E, and those who need assistance whilst at hospital and through the discharge process, to support them back into their lives.
Helping young stay safe Youth workers are now working at Salford Royal hospital’s Accident and Emergency department to keep young people safe from violence. GM Navigator is a Greater Manchester wide project bringing together youth workers and NHS staff to support vulnerable young people aged 10 to 25 who go to hospital with a violence-related injury. The Navigators will work with the young person for up to six weeks, helping them to access local support networks and prevent further violence. The project has been commissioned by the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and is being delivered by the Oasis charity.
Nina Mensah
Shaun Tomlinson
Nathan Griffiths, Consultant Nurse in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at Salford Royal, said: “When a young person comes to our emergency department with an injury they’ve suffered due to violence, the youth workers will be assigned to appropriate patients to understand more about the reasons they were involved in violence with a view to preventing that happening again.” Between April 2018 and March 2020 there were nearly 1,000 attendances at Greater Manchester A&E departments by under 18s as a result of assault, nearly 90 of which were due to assault with a knife.
Christopher Hughes
Hannah Barton
Angela Maher
