Covid: 'Let charities vaccinate the homeless'

Charities have urged the Welsh Government to allow them to administer the Covid vaccine to people who are homeless or addicted to drugs.

The Kaleidoscope Project said charities have the experience and trust of vulnerable groups who "often fall out" of NHS support.

Homeless charity The Wallich has also called for a "targeted programme".

The Welsh Government said health boards are working to ensure every eligible adult is vaccinated.

Before securing a sleeping pod for homeless people, Junior Samuels, 39, was sleeping rough on the streets of Newport. Drug addiction has been an "ongoing struggle".

Mr Samuels said he had little time to think about the risk of Covid-19 while coping with the challenges of homelessness, mental health and his addiction.

"Of course I'm concerned about it [Covid] but there's really nothing I can do about it is there?"

He said any information he might receive about a vaccination would come through Kaleidoscope, who provide intervention care for him and others in similar situations.

"They're the ones that I turn to... the ones I trust."

It is not only that trust that makes the charity well-placed to provide the vaccine. Chief executive Martin Blakebrough said their nurses already have the experience of providing medical care - including injections.

He insists the charity does not want their users to jump the queue.

However with so many of its users lacking basic provisions to even receive an appointment date, or travel to the vaccination centre, he fears many will slip through the system.

"They often live in hostels, shared accommodation or they're on the street, so their susceptibility to Covid is very high, and it is something that could go through the community very quickly," he said.

"It seems to me that as we provide a lot of medical services to this client group it would be more sensible for us to provide that vaccination.

"It doesn't make sense. We have nurses and they provide vaccines for hepatitis B, for example, so we're not unused to giving jabs."

Many of the organisation's workers are considered front line staff and have received vaccinations.

Elwyn Thomas, an outreach and harm reduction worker for Kaleidoscope, said the charity had established trust with its service users:

"There is a place Kaleidoscope, and other third-sector drug services in Wales, could assist in the rollout of this vaccine," he said.

"This is a cohort of people that I know, they trust me, they trust my colleagues with intimate details, with their health care, so these are things that we already do."

The charity said its facilities could be used to help vaccinate other people who struggle to reach vaccination centres, as well as its service users.

Homelessness charity, The Wallich, has supported the bid from Kaleidoscope.

However Dr Lindsay Cordery-Bruce, the charity's chief executive, said only about 12% of their workforce had been vaccinated, which was "still too low for the amount of risk".

"Our teams, who are working in temporary accommodation environments, are no less deserving than people who work in care homes", she said.

Dr Cordery-Bruce called on the Welsh Government to set up a "special, targeted programme" for homeless people who face barriers when accessing healthcare.

"We have a fleet of welfare vehicles that could be used to make sure the vaccine goes out into the communities where it's most needed," she said.

The Welsh Government said health boards and local authorities are working to ensure vaccinations are offered to every eligible adult, including the homeless.

"We have welcomed a number of volunteers with a clinical background to support the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Wales," a spokesperson said.

"It is important that vaccinations are carried out under the national arrangements in formal healthcare settings to ensure that the safety, quality or efficacy of the vaccine is not compromised."