Project overview
Médecins du Monde is improving access to healthcare for homeless people in the canton of Vaud. In this project, nurses provide consultations at several facilities.
In French-speaking Switzerland, it is estimated that 500 women and 1,500 men live on the streets. The extremely precarious living conditions of these homeless people expose them to greater physical and mental health problems. In too many cases, their isolation and lack of housing and regular medical follow-up make them apprehensive about contacting the appropriate care facilities, with disastrous consequences on their health.
Médecins du Monde’s response
To address the difficulty of access to healthcare for the homeless population, Médecins du Monde offers hours during which nurses can be consulted at the emergency shelter facilities for homeless people in the canton of Vaud. The project developed from an advocacy initiative by the canton of Vaud emergency shelter facilities, which in 2019 asked Médecins du Monde Switzerland to design and implement care activities.
On the ground, the presence of Médecins du Monde in these facilities enables homeless people to benefit from easy access to care, anonymously and without having to make an appointment with a health professional.
Treating injustice
The health workers fulfill multiple roles: they assess health issues, treat, listen, reassure, refer, answer questions, raise awareness, screen, advise, and identify risk situations. And for people who for the most part live under very precarious conditions, the consultations also provide an opportunity to talk.
Health promotion
The nurses who work at the centers are actively involved in health promotion: they evaluate extremely complex situations and play a role in interdisciplinary health networking and in referral to a network of volunteer doctors and public care facilities.
Advocacy
In close collaboration with the facilities established in Lausanne, Vevey, and Yverdon-les-Bains, Médecins du Monde conducts advocacy to make more people aware of the issue of access to healthcare for homeless people. The experience of working in homeless shelters will contribute to documenting the health situation of homeless people in the cities where we operate, to provide for better awareness and advocacy promoting access to care for all.
A public health project
Consultations in the homeless shelters have reduced visits to hospital emergency rooms by an estimated 30%. Providing this type of care to people in low-threshold treatment programs, such as those who are unsheltered or struggling with addiction, both improves the quality of care they receive and benefits the entire population.
