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20,000 Birmingham residents have complex needs

Nearly 20,000 people in Birmingham have complex needs including homelessness, substance misuse or offending according to a council report.

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Birmingham City Council

The report from Dr Justin Varney, Birmingham City Council’s director of public health, makes recommendations to improve conditions for individuals living with multiple complex needs (MCN).

These are defined as one or more of four main disadvantage areas – homelessness, substance misuse, mental ill health and contact with the criminal justice system.

Birmingham has the 18th highest prevalence of MCN out of more than 300 local authorities in England, according to a study by the Lankelly Chase Foundation cited in the report.

The report gives an estimate that more than 19,700 people have at least one severe multiple disadvantage, and that 7,100 of these individuals also have mental health problems.

More than 10,500 people aged 15 to 64 in the city are thought to be opiate or crack cocaine users, while there were 26,000 hospital admissions for alcohol related conditions in 2017 to 2018.

The report states more than 16,000 people in Birmingham have a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder or psychosis while 100,000 adults have depression.

There were approximately 2,600 first time offenders in 2018, and of all offenders around a third go on to reoffend.

Of the 1,185 Birmingham cases managed by the National Probation Service, 36 per cent had mental health issues and/or were designated mentally disordered offenders.

In addition, nine per cent of offenders were recorded as having no fixed abode.

The report states more than £127 million per year is spent across Birmingham and Solihull on interventions for people with at least two needs out of homelessness, offending and substance misuse.

Only six per cent of those with three of these needs are currently employed while 60 per cent are unemployed.

The report states eight out of 10 people with severe multiple disadvantage are men, but some of the most extreme cases are closely tied to street prostitution which is dominated by women.

The report states support should be holistic and needs are not approached in isolation from key risk factors such as adverse childhood experiences and poverty.

It states organisations must develop “integrated data sharing” around those who have MCN, and adopt the principles of Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM), a coalition of national charities.

Dr Varney states in the report: “Sadly, it is easy to slip into an approach that responds only to the specific need that brought a person to the front door and not see the complexities that surround that individual and challenge them every day.

“The report sets out the data and evidence of the extent multiple and complex needs affect the lives of adults in Birmingham and aims to raise awareness of what really matters when it comes to preventing and tackling many of these problems.”

The report will be put to the council’s cabinet at an online meeting on April 21, which can be streamed via the council’s website.

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