A nurse-led response to unmet needs of homeless migrants in inner London

The economic recession has left many undocumented migrants from the European Union accession states stranded and unemployed in the UK, without recourse to public funds. The TB team at Homerton University Hospital found a significant number of eastern Europeans squatting in derelict buildings in the London borough of Hackney. Because of the high rate of tuberculosis (TB) in Hackney, the team developed an outreach clinic to screen people for TB. During this screening initiative, which took place between August 2008 and March 2009, team members compiled a database of 98 eastern European citizens, and screened 62 for TB. Team members became aware during this time that, while eastern Europeans had significant health problems ranging from alcohol dependency to trench foot and scabies, very few of them had access to any form of health care except the local accident and emergency department. The team extended the screening programme to other homeless people. It has developed strong, collaborative links with a range of agencies to sustain its work with Hackney's vulnerable populations.