MORE must be done to help homeless people access mental health services, according to a report.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland has made a series of recommendations after a study revealed barriers facing those in need of support.

The commission spoke to 43 homeless people about their experiences in accessing services for homelessness and mental ill-health.

Of the group, more than half said they experienced depression, 20 had experienced sexual or physical abuse, 14 had been in care and almost half had spent time in prison.

The report found some homeless people faced “significant” difficulties in registering with a GP while those diagnosed with both mental ill-health and addiction issues sometimes had difficulty getting help. Access to psychiatric services could be “very difficult” to arrange, particularly out of hours, and the benefits system was “not set up well for homeless people”.

Kate Fearnley, the commission’s executive director of engagement and participation, said: “This is a small-scale study through which we wanted to hear the views of just some of this particularly vulnerable group of people.

“We found that some were receiving the care and treatment they needed, but others were not, or had difficulty accessing it. We saw engaged and committed staff in homelessness services supporting people with significant mental health needs but lacking direct referral routes to psychiatric and psychological services.

“We heard that the only way of accessing those services was via a GP, but there could be barriers to registering. We also heard that there is a disconnect between mental health services and substance misuse services, and some people who need both may get neither. This issue has been recognised by government as an area in need of improvement in its new mental health strategy.”

The report calls on NHS boards and social care partnerships to improve access to GPs and for more consideration of the needs of homeless people. Councils are urged to review aftercare for former looked-after young people and the Scottish Government is asked to ensure the new welfare system is fully accessible to homeless people.”