Poor housing costs the NHS in England £1.5bn annually, the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) has revealed.

In its Building Health into Homes report, the RCOT calls for housing to be treated as a core part of health and care.

Lauren Walker, professional practice manager at the RCOT and report author, said: ‘Everyone lives somewhere, but housing is too often treated as an afterthought in health and care, meaning people are reaching the point of crisis before they get support.

‘Building Health into Homes sets out a different approach. It shows how the home can be used as a health intervention, not just something to react to later. We’ve developed practical resources for system leaders, services and occupational therapists to support earlier action and better joined-up working across health, housing and social care.’

The report found: 3.5m homes in England are classed as non-decent, affecting 7.5m people; 87% of homes fail to meet basic accessibility criteria; and one in five wheelchair user households in Scotland has unmet housing needs.

It highlights how OTs can prevent hospital admissions and readmissions; reduce falls and deterioration; support people to live safely and well at home; and also play a critical role in connecting health, housing and social care.

The report calls on leaders to:

• strengthen system leadership across housing, health and care by embedding specialist expertise so housing is consistently treated as a core determinant of health
• shift investment towards prevention and early intervention by acting earlier on housing related risks
• build more accessible and adaptable housing and set baseline accessibility standards for all new build housing
• build workforce capacity to deliver joined up, place based solutions by strengthening senior professional leadership and enabling occupational therapy practitioners to work across housing, health and care boundaries.

Lee Peart is editor of Hemming Group’s Healthcare Management magazine.