Homelessness and palliative care: new film from St Ann’s Hospice
St Ann's has launched a new film to highlight some of the challenges and inequalities people experiencing homelessness face at the end of life, and how it can be improved.
We’ve launched a new film to help professionals support people experiencing homelessness at the end of their life. The film brings together voices from the homeless and palliative care sectors to highlight some of the challenges and inequalities people experiencing homelessness face at the end of life, and how it can be improved.
People experiencing homelessness suffer from poor health disproportionately. For people who are in need of support for cancer or other life-limiting illnesses, they experience many barriers to health care – especially if their health is getting worse, or they’re nearing the end of their life.
People affected by homelessness often die 30 years younger than people who are housed, and these deaths are often unplanned, with access to palliative care very unusual and care often being crisis-led.
With funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, a new film, ‘Homeless, young and dying: we can do better’, was commissioned by St Ann’s Hospice and produced by StGilesMedical to raise awareness of these issues.
At St Ann’s we’re proud of our commitment to improving our reach, as we aim to ensure as many people as possible can access palliative and end of life care – whatever their background, and whatever community they’re from. Our homeless palliative care service works collaboratively with partners across the city who support people experiencing homelessness, our teams provide expertise and care right when it’s needed most. We’ve seen first-hand the impact that the specialist care we provide has on people at that extremely vulnerable time in their life, and what can be achieved when we work together with colleagues in the homeless sector. Jude Holt, Head of Practice Development at St Ann’s Hospice
Jude explained: “The aim of our film is bring together voices from across the hospice and homeless sectors to raise awareness of the barriers to palliative care, and the complexity of need. We want this film to be a useful resource which shares best practice and gives hope that by working together, we can continue to influence change and improve the lives of thousands of people who need specialist care at a vulnerable time in their life.”
St Ann’s Homeless Palliative Care Coordinator, Niamh Brophy, is interviewed in the film and shares best practice and learnings from St Ann’s Homeless Palliative Care service, alongside interviews with St Ann’s Chief Executive Rachel McMillan and Jill Mulcahy, a specialist palliative care nurse on our inpatient unit.
Other contributors to the film include Dr Caroline Schulman, Dr Kathryn Mannix, Dr Ruth Eldson, Greater Manchester Housing First, Great Chapel Street Medical Centre, Groundswell, Providence Row Housing Association, St Mungo’s, Single Homeless Project, Sir Edward Davey and Urban Village Medical Centre.
You can watch the film at www.sah.org.uk/HomelessFilm and find other useful resources about palliative care and homelessness.
Watch the film
Watch the film on our website, where you can also find other useful resources about palliative care and homelessness.
Watch the film online