About us
Pathway is the UK’s leading homeless healthcare charity. We work with the NHS and other partners to create improved models of care for homeless people.
About
What is Pathway?
Our purpose is to improve the health of people experiencing homelessness. Pathway’s model of a multi-disciplinary team in a hospital uses the opportunity of a hospital admission to enable people experiencing multiple exclusion to move onto a more positive life path.
Founded in 2009, Pathway has worked to improve the quality of healthcare homeless and excluded groups receive by:
- developing and sharing best models of care like our hospital teams;
- increasing specialist skills of workers in healthcare;
- influencing policy; and
- reducing stigma in healthcare against people experiencing multiple exclusion.
Pathway has helped 10 hospitals in the UK to create teams of doctors, nurses, social care professionals and peer supporters. These teams support over 3500 homeless patients every year. We have also worked with colleagues in Australia to adapt the model in their context.
However, many more people need our help. Over the next 5 years, Pathway plans to extend its network of teams and share the Pathway model more widely. The aim is to improve outcomes for homeless patients and help reduce health inequalities.
The NHS Long Term Plan calls for stronger NHS action on health inequalities, and a concerted and systematic approach to addressing unwarranted variation in care. The Plan commits the NHS to continuing to commission, partner with and support charities, social enterprises and community interest companies providing services and support to vulnerable and at-risk groups. In particular it commits to extra funding to meet the needs of rough sleepers and notes that people affected by homelessness die, on average, around 30 years earlier than the general population1.
A two-centre, NIHR funded randomised controlled trial, at The Royal London and Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals showed significantly improved quality of life scores (EQ-5D-5L) in the intervention arm. Quality-of-life cost per quality-adjusted life-year was £26,0002
Other Pathway Services
publications, conferences and qualifications, developing and implementing integrated models of healthcare for excluded people within the NHS
Hosting the Faculty of Homeless & Inclusion Health - a network of over 1300 people who are passionate about healthcare for excluded people.
Convening an annual two-day International Symposium on Homeless & Inclusion Health.
Pathway’s Expert by Experience (EbE) programme, which trains and supports people who have been homeless to use their personal experiences to educate healthcare professionals about patient care of people experiencing homelessness.
Making the case for 'respite care' beds, where homeless people can get a warm bed, food and good nursing after a hospital stay for a few days, pending a full recovery.
Hosting training and support in mental capacity and rough sleeping
Developing guidance to help hostels and hospices support terminally ill homeless people.
Find out more...
Below you can find more information on homelessness, how Pathway helps, and how you can get involved
Footnotes
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Hewett, N., Buchman, P., Musariri, J., Sargeant, C. et al. (2016). Randomised controlled trial of GP-led in-hospital management of homeless people (‘Pathway’). Clinical Medicine, 16(3), 223-229.