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£100,000 ‘health bus’ will reach homeless and rough sleepers in Peterborough
A bid to provide the growing number of homeless in Peterborough with health care will be launched today.
The £100,000 Health Outreach Bus will provide access to NHS services to those who are homeless.
Those in the homeless and rough sleeping community, who visit the Outreach Health Bus and are not registered with a GP surgery, will be invited to register with Boroughbury Medical Centre.
The Health Outreach Bus will be led by Light Project Peterborough, whose latest figures show that in July, 39 people came to them for the first time as homeless and needing support.
“It’s a worryingly high number and is five more than in June but we’re doing everything we can to help every one of them,” says the Light Project.
The new outreach bus has been funded by NHS Charities Together and will provide health and care assessments as well as giving on-going access and referrals to a range of NHS health services.
Typical treatment aboard the bus will range from dry blood spot testing to flu vaccinations, and basic eye tests to minor medical treatments such as dressing wounds and treating infections.
Steven Pettican, chief executive officer at Light Project Peterborough, said: “This new health hub once again shows the tireless work of the charities staff and volunteers.”
Light Project Peterborough has provided Peterborough’s daytime centre for the homeless community since October 2018.
It is now planning which areas of the city to take the Health Outreach Bus.
Over the years Light Project has led City Chaplaincy, Winter Night Shelters, Rest Centres during the Covid 19 ‘Everyone In’ initiative, Multi-Agency Community Support Teams, and day time services through the Garden House.
