Hospital Housing Clinic
Specialist housing advice, brought to the hospital ward, so that finding the right home never stands in the way of someone leaving hospital and getting on with their recovery.
What the Hospital Housing Clinic is
The Hospital Housing Clinic plays a vital role in supporting patients as they recover from life-changing illness and injuries, and plan for their move back into the community.
Through one-to-one housing brokerage, we remove one of the biggest barriers to discharge; unsuitable housing. By supporting patients to secure accessible homes, the Hospital Housing Clinic improves health outcomes and prevents homelessness.
The service began in September 2024 as a partnership project with the Occupational Therapist Team at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) National Spinal Injuries Unit in Glasgow and has now expanded to the hospital’s neuro rehabilitation, major trauma, vascular and stroke rehabilitation units.
We now run weekly Hospital Housing Clinics at QEUH, the brain injury unit at Murdostoun Rehabilitation Centre and at WestMARC – the West of Scotland’s Mobility and Rehabilitation Centre.
We hope, with funding, to be able to expand the service to more hospitals across Scotland so that more patients can benefit from the service.
One-to-one support on the ward
Our two dedicated Hospital Housing Clinic brokers, Eve Young and Aiesha Marr, work closely with clients on the ward to understand their housing needs. Through continuous working with patients, Eve and Aiesha offer guidance on the various housing options available, including social housing, sheltered housing, and home ownership.
Working in partnership
As specialist and wheelchair properties can be hard to come by, we are able to use our professional networks to liaise directly with local councils, housing associations and property experts to bid for homes that we know will be a good fit for both clients and landlords.
In this way, the Hospital Housing Clinic navigates complex housing systems sensitively and efficiently, easing pressure on hospital staff, patients and their families, and ultimately helping people to find stable and secure homes where they can confidently continue their recovery and move on with their lives.
Working in partnership with Occupational Therapy teams in hospitals and rehabilitation centres is critical to our success. We are working with the OT faculty at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh to establish housing as an integral part of patient care and wellbeing early in the careers of future practitioners.
The housing clinic has been a hugely successful partnership in tackling the housing issues for our patients. The knowledge and expertise from our housing brokers alongside the skills from the Occupational Therapists ensure patients have the best possible chance of identifying suitable housing in a timely manner. A suitable house supports a person to maximise their independence and live a fulfilling life after such a life changing injury.
Jenn Cloughley, Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist, Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit
The house I’m in now is like it was made for me and all my family are nearby. I’m very, very grateful. If this service wasn’t here, I don’t know where I’d be, or what I’d be.
Annette, a Hospital Housing Clinic client
More client stories
The fuller stories behind the Hospital Housing Clinic, including Annette’s and Thomas Ewing’s, will live in our News section.
Client stories for this service will appear here as they are published in News.
Wondering if Hospital Housing Clinic is for you?
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