Posted: September 2, 2026
A new partnership between The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, West Midlands Cancer Alliance and Good Shepherd Wolverhampton is helping healthcare professionals better understand the barriers faced by people experiencing homelessness when accessing healthcare and cancer services.
People experiencing homelessness face some of the starkest health inequalities in society. They are more likely to receive a cancer diagnosis at a later stage, less likely to take part in screening programmes and often experience poorer outcomes than the wider population.
At The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, staff feedback and local insight highlighted a clear gap in support. While healthcare professionals were motivated to help people experiencing homelessness, many reported lacking the confidence and knowledge to identify homelessness or connect individuals with the appropriate support services. As a result, some people were at risk of falling through the gaps in care.
To address this, a co-produced quality improvement project was developed by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust in partnership with West Midlands Cancer Alliance and Good Shepherd, a Wolverhampton-based charity working to end homelessness, support recovery and create pathways out of poverty.
The project focused on improving staff confidence and awareness as a key driver of change. As well as creating learning resources and strong community links, together the organisations have developed a new video which shares different lived experience perspectives when accessing healthcare services.
To mark Recovery Month in September, the partnership is publicly launching the video to celebrate recovery, challenge stigma, and raise awareness of homelessness and associated challenges. The film explores the barriers people experiencing homelessness may face when accessing health and cancer services, from attending appointments and accessing information to navigating complex healthcare systems.
Chris Cole, Service Manager at Good Shepherd Wolverhampton, said:
“People experiencing homelessness often face multiple barriers when accessing healthcare, and these challenges can be even greater when someone is worried about where they are going to sleep that night.
“By sharing lived experience and helping healthcare professionals better understand these issues, we can work together to ensure people receive the compassionate support they need, at the right time.
“Recovery is about creating pathways that help people move forward to rebuild their lives. At Good Shepherd, we support people with both their immediate needs, such as food and housing support, and their long-term recovery through group-work and development opportunities. Accessible healthcare services are a vital part of that journey.”
This training video has been showcased at the Cancer Improvement Collaborative Conference at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, as well as the West and East Midlands Cancer Alliance Inequalities Conference. A Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust launch is planned for September, with an initial rollout expected to reach approximately 200 members of staff.
Kelly Pritchard, Project Manager at Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust said:
“I am incredibly proud to have led a project that has brought together healthcare professionals, voluntary sector partners, and people with lived experience to address an important health inequality. I am deeply grateful to our colleagues at Good Shepherd Wolverhampton and the West Midlands Cancer Alliance for their passion, commitment, and collaboration throughout this journey. The final video is a powerful reflection of what can be achieved when we work together, and I hope it will help staff feel more confident in supporting people experiencing homelessness to access the care they deserve.”
The project has already strengthened collaboration between cancer services and the voluntary sector, helping healthcare professionals feel more confident in identifying unmet needs and connecting people to appropriate support.
Kassie Styche – Health Inequalities Manger at Cancer Alliance said:
“People who are experiencing homelessness have a life-expectancy that is 30 years less than the national average, and those with cancer often have it diagnosed only when symptoms are so serious they attend an Emergency Department which limits the chances of successful treatment.
“So it’s important we address the health challenges many people experiencing homelessness have. They are often not registered with a GP, they may have no reliable contact details, and they can struggle to keep appointments.
“Working with the voluntary sector these are things we can help overcome and this important film helps raise awareness of all these issues for healthcare workers.“
The video can be viewed via the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/YRPArlRsH2E and shorts of the video will be shared across the Good Shepherd social media channels throughout the month of September.