A specialist in helping the homeless is to be employed by NHS Wirral after a new report showed the borough's hospital had not been following government guidelines when discharging people back onto the streets.

The "Health and Homelessness" review paints a grim picture of life on the streets.

The review, studied by Wirral Council's health and well-being scrutiny committee earlier this week, says homelessness causes a range of physical and mental health issues.

These issues are often further complicated when individuals use drugs and alcohol and their chaotic lifestyles often make it difficult for them to access mainstream services.

In the last year, Wirral Council accepted 197 homeless applications, a further 67 applicants were rejected because they were deemed intentionally homeless or were not classed as being in priority need.

There are also 102 local hostel bed spaces in Birkenhead, are all of which are occupied.

And a local "outreach" service took on an average of 24 new homeless clients per month during 2008.

A research project was carried out by the local authority's "Supporting People" team in November of last year into how Wirral Hospital deals with homeless people presenting for treatment at the Accident & Emergency unit.

It showed:

The hospital discharge policy does not acknowledge the particular needs of homeless people and doesn’t take account of good practice guidance issued by the Department of Health in relation to homeless patients.

Hospital staff do not know how to help homeless people and are unaware of the support available in the community.

Local health data on homeless people is inadequate which limits ability to plan and target services appropriately.

It recommended that a hospital link worker be appointed to develop a new discharge protocol and help train key staff on any changes agreed.

An NHS Wirral spokesman said: "We welcome the outcome of the Scrutiny Committee on November 10 and aim to recruit a person with the relevant skills soon after Christmas.

"The research highlighted the need to improve the links between Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and other providers in the community to ensure that when homeless patients leave hospital every effort is made to ensure they have somewhere to live (even if temporary) and appropriate follow on care and support.

"Approval has since been given to commission a Hospital Link Worker for one year to develop systems/protocols between the relevant organisations to ensure the above is achieved.

"The service is jointly funded by NHS Wirral and Wirral Council’s Supporting People team. A service specification has been agreed and expressions of interest have been invited from local agencies.

"Interviews are expected to take place mid-December with a view to starting the project late January or early February.

"This project forms part of a wider strategic approach to addressing the needs of local homeless people."

At the same time, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has already strengthened its processes to ensure that the housing needs of all patients are considered before they are discharged from hospital.

If nursing staff find a patient does not have somewhere to live, arrangements are made for the patient to be taken upon discharge to the local authority’s housing office for advice and support.