WHEN a 35-year-old African woman, in Bradford on a student visa, was admitted to hospital for back surgery, she ended up staying there for a total of 333 days.

With other health needs including continued treatment for HIV, and for an ongoing infection, as well as physiotherapy for her back and wound care for a damaged foot which hindered her mobility, the woman spent almost a year in a hospital bed. Each time discharge was considered it was postponed, due to her complex health needs.

The Immigration and Asylum Team had agreed to fund temporary accommodation, but most units in Bradford didn’t have the wheelchair access the patient needed.

When Horton Housing Association’s Bradford Respite and Integrated Care and Support Service (BRICSS) stepped in, the woman moved into accommodation provided by the service, and registered with a GP surgery. She is now receiving support for her asylum application and health needs.

The pioneering hospital to home scheme is not only helping vulnerable people into accommodation – it is also saving thousands of pounds by freeing up ward beds.

The BRICSS scheme is a key part of an innovative response to the health and housing needs of homeless people in Bradford. It links in with specialist teams in hospital, primary care and community settings to provide a new integrated approach to improve health and wellbeing.

Based in Grattan Road, it has 14 beds offered to people being discharged from hospital, who are either homeless or living somewhere inadequate for their needs. Run in partnership with Bevan Healthcare CIC, the scheme is one of the first of its kind in the country and is being rolled out as a pilot for other areas. Now it has been shortlisted in the UK Housing Awards’ specialist needs category.

Horton Housing Chief Executive Officer Paul Gartland says Bradford has a significant homeless population using the city’s acute health care services.

“Homeless people are six times more likely to access healthcare through Accident and Emergency departments and their length of stay in hospital is likely to be three times as long – an average of 6.2 days compared to 2.1 days,” he said.

“Without somewhere suitable to go, clients are either stuck in hospital or will be quickly re-admitted as they are not able to recover at home.

“This scheme saves lives. It provides a lifeline for people who would otherwise be trying to recover from serious illness in poor quality housing, or out on the streets.”

The bed respite and intermediate care facility offers housing, clinical and social care in partnership with Bevan Healthcare CIC, which provides holistic primary care services for homeless people and other vulnerable groups. While at BRICSS, clients can access intensive GP, nursing and mental-health nursing care and other services to help them move on to more suitable longer-term tenancies or accommodation.

Also available for clients is drug and alcohol support, help with organising personal and social care, benefits advice and debt management, managing mental-health issues and getting help with issues such as financial, sexual, emotional and physical abuse. Adds Paul: “By providing this tailored support, we save thousands of pounds of money which would otherwise be spent on lengthy hospital stays.”

The BRICSS scheme was set up in December, 2013 following a successful bid for funding from the Department of Health’s Homeless Hospital Discharge fund. This one-off funding helped to pay for the building, close to Bradford city centre, and some of the initial running costs. The rest of the funding comes through rent for the housing element of the service and health input funded by Bradford City and Bradford District CCGs.

An independent report, conducted by the York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) found that for every £1 invested, the cost of the benefits gained amounted to between £2 and £4.

Andy Lephard, Medical Director for Bevan Healthcare CIC, said: “The shortlisting for this award highlights a scheme where housing, health and social care are truly working together to change lives.

“BRICSS is supporting people suffering from a huge range of serious health problems to make real progress; providing a vital alternative to prolonged hospital stay or discharge onto the streets.”

l For more information about BRICSS visit hortonhousing.co.uk