{"id":472341,"date":"2026-03-02T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/?p=472341"},"modified":"2026-03-03T15:19:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T15:19:28","slug":"who-made-mystifying-decision-to-close-homeless-addiction-unit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/borough\/who-made-mystifying-decision-to-close-homeless-addiction-unit\/","title":{"rendered":"Who made mystifying decision to close homeless addiction unit?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong><br>We reported last week that a hospital unit which specialises in treating homeless people for drug and alcohol misuse will close at the end of March.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The detox unit at St Thomas\u2019s Hospital is the only NHS initiative of its kind in London and has treated more than 1,000 homeless patients since it opened four years ago, so the news of its closure is disappointing.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"69959\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448384\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">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<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>We also came up against difficulty when trying to get to the bottom of who had actually made the decision to close the unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Responsibility for running it was fragmented; the unit was created in 2021 by Public Health England (now NHS England) in partnership with the Greater London Authority, Guy\u2019s and St Thomas\u2019 NHS Foundation Trust, and the 32 borough councils.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"68153\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448385\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMjMyMjE0NTEwNyIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWNvbnRlbnQgc291dGgtZW50aXR5LXBsYWNlbWVudCIgc3R5bGU9Im1hcmdpbi1sZWZ0OiBhdXRvO21hcmdpbi1yaWdodDogYXV0bzt0ZXh0LWFsaWduOiBjZW50ZXI7Ij48IS0tICAvMTU0NzI1MDcwLDIyNjk0MTk2OTY5L3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3Mvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cyAtLT4NCjxkaXYgaWQ9ImRpdi1ncHQtYWQtMngxIj4NCjxzY3JpcHQ+DQpnb29nbGV0YWcuY21kLnB1c2goZnVuY3Rpb24oKSB7IGdvb2dsZXRhZy5kaXNwbGF5KCdkaXYtZ3B0LWFkLTJ4MScpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICAgICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Funding was awarded by central government and the unit was then commissioned by the City of London, the local authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the unit opened, Guy\u2019s and St Thomas\u2019 Hospital said it would \u201cplug a known gap in treatment facilities for homeless people dealing with serious alcohol and substance dependence.\u201d<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71156\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448386\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMzQ3ODcwNTMyNCIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWluLWFydGljbGUtbXB1OSBzb3V0aC1lbnRpdHktcGxhY2VtZW50Ij48IS0tICAvMTU0NzI1MDcwLDIyNjk0MTk2OTY5L3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3Mvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cyAtLT4NCjxkaXYgaWQ9ImRpdi1ncHQtYWQtbXB1OSI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHU5Jyk7IH0pOw0KPC9zY3JpcHQ+DQo8L2Rpdj4gICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"JnRGvNAG6IZPS1Wwt0h1dIFqMy6ECqYa2AOLvtMf0poFnV93ZhioQXEeCd4H7c59bTTVcwjW5Q\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"jTEIq4VRh7\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/news\/news-plus\/exclusive-hospital-unit-which-treats-homeless-patients-for-alcohol-and-drug-addiction-will-close-next-month\/\">Exclusive: Hospital unit which treats homeless patients for alcohol and drug addiction will close next month<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Exclusive: Hospital unit which treats homeless patients for alcohol and drug addiction will close next month&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/news\/news-plus\/exclusive-hospital-unit-which-treats-homeless-patients-for-alcohol-and-drug-addiction-will-close-next-month\/embed\/#?secret=hYMwzhc4OO#?secret=jTEIq4VRh7\" data-secret=\"jTEIq4VRh7\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The memo announcing the planned closure suggested the reason was cost; but what changed financially in the last four years to render operating the unit unviable<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We contacted the trust which runs the hospital, followed by the local authority in charge, both of whom declined to comment.&nbsp; The latter directed us to the Department of Health and Social Care, which appeared to deflect responsibility back to the local authority in charge of commissioning the service.&nbsp; They said the Department was investing \u00a33.4 billion over the next few years and that local authorities were responsible for deciding how they spend their share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is hard to understand why a unit which fulfils such an important role has been earmarked for closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the Combined Homelessness and Information Network CHAIN about 42% of people sleeping rough in London had an alcohol misuse support need in 2018 to 2019.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71157\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448387\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMjA0OTk2MzAwMyIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWluLWFydGljbGUtbXB1LTEwIHNvdXRoLWVudGl0eS1wbGFjZW1lbnQiPjwhLS0gIC8xNTQ3MjUwNzAsMjI2OTQxOTY5Njkvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cy9zb3V0aHdhcmtuZXdzIC0tPg0KPGRpdiBpZD0iZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCcpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICA8L2Rpdj4=<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>It was announced this week that the government plans to invest millions in tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.&nbsp; The government says the funding will \u201chelp partners and local authorities find smarter, more joined-up ways to get people off the streets for good, from complex case co-ordination to peer mentoring and stronger links between services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The detox unit is the perfect example of local services effectively collaborating to tackle homelessness, making the decision to close by a government which claims to be committed to eliminating rough sleeping even more difficult to understand. Perhaps that\u2019s why nobody wants to own up to the decision?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"cmkJlu7fwxS3BPzEFHNUWXZRQivar0y96KsjCgAod8\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"N3r1JB1unL\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/bermondsey\/bermondsey-welcomes-southwarks-first-modular-homes-for-rough-sleepers\/\">Bermondsey welcomes Southwark&#8217;s first modular homes for rough sleepers<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Bermondsey welcomes Southwark&#8217;s first modular homes for rough sleepers&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/bermondsey\/bermondsey-welcomes-southwarks-first-modular-homes-for-rough-sleepers\/embed\/#?secret=OodIhCLBbn#?secret=N3r1JB1unL\" data-secret=\"N3r1JB1unL\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We reported last week that a hospital unit which specialises in treating homeless people for drug and alcohol misuse will close at the end of March. The detox unit at St Thomas\u2019s Hospital is the only NHS initiative of its kind in London and has treated more than 1,000 homeless patients since it opened four [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18769,"featured_media":472342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":"The News Opinion"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"15443"},"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[187,15443,13543],"tags":[13574,702,13295],"class_list":["post-472341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-borough","category-opinion","category-politics","tag-comment","tag-guys-and-st-thomas","tag-hospital"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18769"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472341"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":472573,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472341\/revisions\/472573"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}