Homeless people have poor access to medical care

He said: "The way the NHS works means every patient needs to have a registered address and this seemed like a good, workable solution.

"I think we have about six people at that address now and it is working okay."

Family doctors are paid by a labyrinthine system of fees, and often end up registering patients as temporary visitors to the area in order to be able to claim payment for treating them.

However, three months later, the homeless patients are back to square one unless the same arrangment can be recreated.

More medical problems

Ironically, homeless people generally have more need of medical assistance than other people, and often end up at Accident and Emergency Units asking for help.

A spokesman for the homeless charity Shelter said: "Our research suggests that as many as 37% of homeless people are not registered with a GP - that's 10 times the proportion of the general population.

"They are missing out on elements of care such as proper repeat prescriptions, and a GP who knows your full history.

"We've suggested a number of ways of making registration simpler."