References
Fighting TB in underserved populations: homeless communities
Abstract
In my role as a TB Nurse Consultant, I lead the East Dorset TB Service. Based at University Hospitals Dorset, my colleague Susie Barrett and I facilitate the diagnosis of, and provide nurse-led treatment and management for, all cases of tuberculosis (TB) and latent TB infection across East Dorset. Although based in a hospital, we also provide community care. We were very pleased to achieve second place in the Infection Control Nurse of the Year category of the BJN Awards 2020.
This story began with a prolonged hospital admission for Pete, a 58-year-old polite man who was a rough sleeper. He became homeless after losing his job. Pete was suffering from TB, which had damaged his lungs, rendering him infectious to others.
Without UK citizenship and not having been employed in the past 6 months, the local council's social care and housing departments' assessments concluded that Pete had ‘no recourse to public funds’ and was not eligible for their support.
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