11 February 2010
Leading homelessness charity St Mungo's has urged government and health commissioners to back the life-changing recommendations put forward in today's Marmot report.
The report, Fair Society, Healthy Lives, published by Sir Michael Marmot, was commissioned by the government as a review that will contribute to the development of a post-2010 health inequalities strategy.
St Mungo's published its own health strategy in 2008. This showed that homeless and vulnerable people face particular physical and mental health problems, can find it much harder to access services, and their complex mix of health issues often mean they are poorly served by health services that find it easier to tackle one problem at a time.
Charles Fraser, Chief Executive of St Mungo's, said: "We very much welcome the Marmot report. Sir Michael has concluded that people in the poorest neighbourhoods in England live an average seven years less than those in the richest areas. We know too, however, that rough sleepers have a life expectancy of someone in the Middle Ages. The average age of death of someone in one of our hostels is around 41. Inequalities should also be looked at in wider terms than geographic areas, or we could miss the significance of people disadvantaged by the other communities they are part of, such as the street homeless community, or the communities of those at risk of homelessness.
"We think homelessness is a health issue. We're calling on the government to recognise this and appoint a lead minister for health and homelessness. As well as addressing the underlying drivers of health inequalities by tackling relative poverty, it is crucial to act urgently on the need for much more connected policies and services. Inaction is not an option.
"We hope that the next government will have the courage to act on the findings of the Marmot report. We all know the dire state of the economy but it is those who had least to do with getting the economy into this situation, the poorest of the poor - and especially rough sleepers - who will suffer most if nothing is done. It would be a tragedy if the life-changing recommendations in this report remained an 'if only' list and the next generation of homeless and vulnerable people had to face the life expectancy of those on the streets today."
ENDS