Improving Hospital Care for People Experiencing Homelessness

Financial support has been provided to the Royal College of Physicians as a grant from Pfizer Ltd.

In this conversation, Dr Pippa Medcalf shares her journey from witnessing the challenges faced by homeless patients in acute medicine to leading a transformative approach to hospital discharge and care. Joined by Dr Kathy Petersen, the discussion highlights the importance of compassion, education, and system-wide collaboration in ensuring no patient is discharged to the streets unsupported. The video explores the development of specialist teams, the legal duty to refer, and the role of wrap-around care in improving outcomes. It also addresses stigma, trauma, and the need for inclusive, holistic healthcare for vulnerable populations.

Dr Pippa Medcalf MBE

Dr Pippa Medcalf is a consultant physician in acute medicine at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. She is the RCP lead for health inequalities and inclusion health, and locally she established an in-reach team to support homeless patients in hospital. Pippa is a passionate advocate for compassionate care and has pioneered hospital-based interventions to prevent discharging homeless individuals without support.

Dr Kathy Petersen

Dr Kathy Petersen is a GP partner in Northumberland and the strategic clinical lead for the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, focusing on learning disability, neurodivergence, and mental health. She co-chairs the RCGP’s learning disability special interest group and is a Core20PLUS5 ambassador. Kathy is widely recognised for her work on inclusive healthcare strategies and improving access for vulnerable populations.

Published

07 November 2025

Theme

Health inequalities

About

Financial support has been provided to the Royal College of Physicians as a grant from Pfizer Ltd. In this conversation, Dr Pippa Medcalf shares her journey from witnessing the challenges faced by homeless patients in acute medicine to leading a transformative approach to hospital discharge and care.

Further resources

Value-Based Healthcare: Tackling Inequality Through Collaborative Practice

In this episode of Action on Health Inequality, Dr Aicha Bouraoui hosts a discussion with Dr Chris Packham and Dr Kathy Petersen on the principles and impact of value-based healthcare.

Action on health inequality

Explore this 2-part series on training in social determinants of health and generalist education to tackle health inequalities and improve patient centred care

Health inequality: Transition from child to adult services

Dr Aicha Bouraoui, Dr Terry Segal and Debbie Wilson discuss the transition of young people to adult care.