London Homeless Health COVID-19 Response Resources
We have been coordinating the London COVID-19 Homeless Health Response as a multi-agency approach to managing the health needs and minimising the transmission of COVID within the homeless population in London.
Please see a range of resources, information, webinar resources and further contacts below.
Latest updates
- April 2022: living with COVID webinar recording and slides – advice for keeping staff and residents in homelessness settings safe
- March 2022: conversations on COVID-19 vaccines with experts by experience of homelessness video project
- 26 January 2022 updated Frequently Asked Questions for hostels, and homeless hotels when dealing with COVID-19 (please note: in line with revised COVID-19 government guidance, an updated version of this document is being developed and will be posted on this page when available)
- From hotel accommodation to “safe sleeping villages” – read the latest report from the Centre for Homelessness Impact and IPPO Cities to explore what nine global cities did to support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness during the pandemic.
- The pan-London response: A podcast and a written case study on ‘Homeless health in London – the response to Covid-19’, covering the period March to early June 2020 have been created. For the podcast, click here and the written case study, click here. (both published June 2020)
- North West London CCGs response to ‘Everyone In’ – read the report (published October 2020)
- Lessons learnt from councils’ response to rough sleeping during the COVID-19 pandemic
- If you have a resident showing Covid-19 symptoms, please refer to the UCLH Find&Treat team.
- For further information about what action hostels should take if they have a symptomatic case, please see the frequently asked questions.
- Outreach team COVID testing training on clinical vulnerability and lateral flow testing
- COVID testing flow chart
- Checklist and resources for supporting residents to self isolate
- For updated resources on Covid vaccinations and Covid hesitancy, see the HLP Homeless Health Covid vaccination toolkit here.
- 24 December 2021 webinar recording: top tips for supporting people who are homeless with the Covid-19 Vaccine
- July 2021: Groundswell updated Covid-19 leaflet: A4 printable version and A6 folded leaflet version.
During the pandemic, HLP has convened a number of webinars to offer real-time advice and examples of good practice to support frontline teams working with homeless clients and residents.
Find past webinar recordings and resources below:
- 21 April 2022: living with COVID webinar recording and slides with advice on keeping staff and residents in homelessness settings safe
- 24 December 2021 webinar recording: top tips for supporting people who are homeless with the COVID-19 Vaccine
- 21 December 2021 webinar slides and recording on the Omicron variant and preparedness in homelessness settings
- October 2021: webinar slides and recording on IPC in initial accommodation settings for asylum-seeker and refugee residents
- August 2021: webinar on COVID isolation and vaccinations in homeless settings: recording and presentation slides
- 19 July 2021: webinar on COVID-19 prevention, infection and control measures and vaccinations for accommodation providers in London: presentation slides, recording. summary Q&A
- 22 December 2020: Homeless Health Covid Variant IPC webinar with experts Professor Andrew Hayward and Dr Al Story. Aimed at front line workers supporting those experiencing homelessness, the session analysed the new Covid-19 Delta variant and its impacts and outlined effective prevention, infection and control solutions:
- HDAS London information and support guides for drug and alcohol support (also translated in Romanian, Polish and Punjabi) and smoking cessation (also translated in Romanian, Polish and Punjabi)
- PHE and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) COVID-19 guidance for commissioners and providers of services for people who use drugs or alcohol
- PHE operational advice for alcohol, drugs and nicotine in emergency accommodation for people experiencing rough sleeping
- Launch of Homeless Hotels Drug and Alcohol Support Service (HDAS London) and additional resources; smoking and COVID-19 guide for residents and smoking cessation product user guides for residents including JUUL e-cigarette, Vype ePen, nicotine mouth spray and pouch and Voke nicotine inhalator
- HDAS London – Drug and Alcohol service update 14 December 2020
- HDAS London – updated opening hours and service update (September 2020) – specialist support for hotel staff 9am-5pm Mon-Fri – click for details
- HDAS London workbooks on Cannabis, Cocaine and Crack, Alcohol (Polish translation), Heroin, Spice and 2 activity packs (activity pack 1 and activity pack 2)
- HDAS London link to training video for tobacco harm reduction and e-cigarettes
- Harm reduction strategies for alcohol dependence
- Additional resources and poster on substance misuse (article on supervised consumption during COVID-19 and information on naloxone including when and how to administer Prenoxad Injection)
- 26 January 2022 updated Frequently Asked Questions for hostels, and homeless hotels when dealing with COVID-19
- COVID testing flow chart
- Checklist and resources for supporting residents to self isolate
- Information bulletin on COVID infection control for hostels and other temporary housing providers
- COVID-19: management of staff and exposed patients or residents in health and social care settings
- Please refer any homeless clients who attend a site directly to StreetLink London or contact your local Homeless Outreach team.
- Groundswell leaflets for registering with a GP and GP preventative care including:
- Information about the NHS App to help clients check symptoms, book appointments, order repeat prescriptions and view their summary care record.
Webinar series: Homeless health, primary care and Covid
In June 2020, this HLP series featured experts with lived experience and specialist GPs:
- Webinar 1: Homeless health background, overview and London’s Covid response, with Dr Caroline Shulman and Dr Zana Khan – 8 June 2020. Watch again here.
- Webinar 2: Homeless health, Covid and the patient journey through general practice, with Groundswell’s Sharon Clint and Dr Jasmin Malik – 11 June 2020. Watch again here.
- Webinar 3: Homeless health, Covid and safer surgeries, with Doctors of the World – 12-1pm, 18 June 2020. Slides here.
- Webinar 4: Next steps for London: health needs assessments and the importance of MDTs, with Dr Binta Sultan, Dr Caroline Shulman, and guests from HDAS, Haringey, Kingston and Hackney. Watch again here.
Additional resources:
If staff and clients are unsure where to get crisis guidance from, they are advised to call 111 and ask for the local mental health crisis line.
Resources on trauma and psychologically informed approaches:
- Groundswell toolkit for frontline homelessness staff on trauma-informed care for clients
- Resources to support hotel, hostel, NHS and housing staff working with adults who are homeless
- Guidance for those unable or unwilling to self-isolate
- Guidance for managing those who are unwilling to self-isolate when symptomatic
Monitoring clients and response planning:
- Guidance and six-step approach for talking about care, death and dying during coronavirus
- Homelessness & palliative care material produced by Pathway
- St Mungo’s My Life, My Choices leaflet on providing quality end of life care for residents
- Practical palliative care
- Homelessness and palliative care
- NHS London guidance on symptom control using non-oral non-parental routes of medication administration during COVID-19
- London NHS commitments to former rough sleepers being resettled in London.
- Guidance for commissioners and providers of hostel services for people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping during Covid-19
- COVID symptoms notice for hotels to be edited with local details, printed out and put under everyone’s door when they come in
- COVID-19: management of staff and exposed patients or residents in health and social care settings
- FAQs on PPE and cleaning for GLA-funded COVID-19 response hotels
- Homeless Health COVID-19 waste disposal pathway
The following documents refer to the COVID-19 Homeless Rapid Integrated Screening Protocol (CHRISP) health needs assessment tool, used during the first wave of the pandemic to screen the health and social care needs of street homeless clients who were accommodated in GLA hotels.
The CHRISP tool highlighted the need to consider all aspects of patient care: health, drug and alcohol support, and social care needs when planning discharge to move-on accommodation.
A modified Mini-CHRISP PLUS tool was also developed in July 2020 to allow non-clinical outreach workers to quickly identify those at increased risk to COVID-19 who needed to be shielded in appropriate accommodation:
Contact
For more information contact the team at hlp.homelesshealthcovid19team@nhs.net