Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a tracking coding system to record people in temporary accommodation that access health services.
Answer
There is no central requirement on what information is captured in local clinical or Patient Administration Systems about people’s housing status and whether they are in temporary accommodation.
The NHS Data Model and Dictionary, however, provides a reference point for approved Information Standards Notices to support health and care activities within the National Health Service in England. It is used for secondary use purposes and supports secondary use statistical reporting. The Model and Dictionary has codes for accommodation types that include temporary housing. This is used in the Improving Access to Psychology Therapies Data set and the Mental Health Services Data set. The Community Services Data Set also records the accommodation status code. It includes codes for: night shelter; emergency hostel or direct access hostel; and placed in temporary accommodation by a local authority.
There is no plan to assess the merits of tracking people in temporary accommodation accessing health services, using coded or other recorded information. However, the Department recognises the importance of reducing barriers to services for those experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping, and has supported the development of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline, Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness. This provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness, including those staying in temporary accommodation.