London's only homeless detox clinic to close

London's only dedicated drug and alcohol detox unit for homeless people is to close, St Thomas' Hospital has confirmed.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the decision had been taken due to "rising costs", adding that the service was "no longer affordable within existing funding".

The clinic which is based at the hospital ran with a £1m shortfall over the past year, and "there were also times when beds were underused", the government added.

Co-founder of the Big Issue magazine and anti-poverty campaigner, Lord John Bird said he was "dismayed" at what he called a "short-sighted cost-cutting exercise".

The unit, which opened in 2021, worked to support people who sleep rough to "safely withdraw from alcohol and drugs as part of the first steps in a treatment journey".

The service also provided peer support, groups, and activities alongside a range of other initiatives focusing on stopping smoking, healthy eating, essential screening, vaccinations and mental wellbeing.

Lord Bird described the closure of the unit as "pulling the service out from beneath the people who desperately need it".

He added: "All we're doing is pushing these problems back on to the streets.

"These patients will end up filling up A&Es, they'll end up being more chaotic, they'll end up in prisons."

The campaigner said the news of the closure "rubbished" the Mayor of London's goal of ending rough sleeping in the capital by 2030.

The Mayor's Office said that the Greater London Authority (GLA) "is not responsible for the unit and its funding".

A spokesperson for the Mayor said: "The mayor does not have powers to commission healthcare, but is committed to supporting vulnerable Londoners and recognises the importance of addiction treatment and detoxification services.

"That's why City Hall has sought assurance from the capital's health authorities that Londoners will continue to have access to detoxification services following this closure, and that any disruption will be kept to a minimum while a new service is developed."

The BBC asked the DCHS and the City of London Corporation (which funds the service) about the possibility of a new service, as mentioned by City Hall, but neither would comment.

The DHSC told the BBC that the government "is committed to ensuring that all those with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need".

It said it recognises "the important role the Addictions Clinical Care Suite at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust has played in supporting people with complex drug and alcohol needs since 2021", and said it was "grateful to the staff who have delivered high-quality care".

The Health Secretary Wes Streeting told LBC on Wednesday that he planned to "go away and look at this".

He spoke of drug and alcohol addiction in his own family, and said: "We can't write these people off. Quite the opposite. We judge a society by how it treats its most vulnerable."

He added: "I'm going to go away and understand what's happened here. It's my responsibility as Health Secretary to make sure we're providing the right care in the right place at the right time."

The DCHS told the BBC that it was investing £3.4bn over the next three years in drug and alcohol prevention, treatment and recovery services.

It added that the department was "working to secure sustainable long-term inpatient detox provision in London".

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