Health written question – answered at on 14 February 2011.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanism he plans to put in place under his proposals for NHS reform to provide access to (a) healthcare and (b) hospital care for (i) a homeless person and (ii) a member of a Traveller community not registered with a GP practice.
Commissioning consortia will be responsible for the provision of health care to homeless and unregistered populations in their geographical area. As is currently the situation with primary care trusts, in future, subject to passage of the Health and Social Bill, a general practitioner (GP) consortium will be the responsible commissioner for any patients registered with its constituent practices, even if they live elsewhere. A wider choice of GP practice will mean that some consortia patients may live beyond their boundaries.
Access to health care for hard to reach groups is a key priority for the Department. Inclusion Health is a programme that focuses specifically on improving the health outcomes of vulnerable groups, including the homeless, and Gypsies and Travellers. Inclusion Health seeks to drive improvements through reform and clinical leadership, and strives to ensure policies and programmes across health and the wider determinants of health consider the needs of those with complex problems.
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