Groundswell Timeline /2022
In 2021, NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) were creating a new guideline: ‘Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness’. The aim was to improve access to and engagement with health and social care for people experiencing homelessness, ensuring care is coordinated across services.
As part of the development, the committee at NICE were keen to consult with people who had lived experience of homelessness to obtain a range of views, experiences, and expertise, independent from the committee. This is where Groundswell stepped in.
Our #HealthNow Peer Network was a group of volunteers and staff from Groundswell and our partners across the country – all members have experience of homelessness. We held a focus group, where 14 members of our Peer Network answered a set of questions to test the relevance, feasibility, and acceptability of the draft guideline and selected recommendations.