People leaving Welsh hospitals into homelessness.
published on 2 Apr 2026
Ahead of the Senedd election in May The Salvation Army is calling on political parties to prioritise homelessness prevention. Welsh Government statistics published today for Apr-Sep 2025 show a mixed picture confirming that homelessness in Wales remains stubbornly high despite some improvement, with single people increasingly vulnerable.
The number of homeless households that councils must help secure accommodation for was 5,556, a welcome reduction compared to the same period in 2024. However, single people are particularly vulnerable making up 73% of that number; higher than the same period in 2024 (72%) and 2023 (69%).
Prevention measures contained in The Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Act must be rolled out and implemented quickly. These include the ‘ask and act’ duty on public services including health boards. Worrying data obtained by the church and charity showed vulnerable patients discharged from Welsh hospitals with ‘no fixed abode’ on 318 occasions between April 2024 and March last year.
All health boards in Wales responded to Freedom of Information requests on A&E attendances and hospital discharges for people recorded as having ‘no fixed abode’ which can include people who are sleeping rough.
“Discharging someone when they might not have secure accommodation increases the risk of sleeping rough, puts their health and recovery in jeopardy and means they are far more likely to relapse.
The FOI report compiled from those responses showed:
- Every day (28 hours) in Wales someone was discharged from hospital into homelessness or unsuitable accommodation. In 2024/25 there were 318 discharges recorded as ‘no fixed abode’.
- More than half (51%) of discharges to ‘no fixed abode’ for which times were provided took place outside working hours (9am–5pm). Of these, 45 (17%) happened at the weekend when services are often less accessible.
- In 2024/25, there were 1655 occasions where people attended A&E with ‘no fixed abode’. At today’s prices that would mean a cost of £189,000 to the NHS assuming this type of hospital visit requires the lowest level of investigation and treatment (NHS data The King's Fund).
Andrew Connell, The Salvation Army’s homelessness policy lead for Wales, said:
“We want the new ‘ask and act’ duty contained in the Wales Housing Act to be properly implemented and resourced. This really is urgent, as our FOI data plus the latest Welsh Government statistics show. The Salvation Army is one of the UK’s largest providers of homelessness services and we know from experience the best way to eradicate homelessness is to prevent people reaching crisis point.
“Discharging someone when they might not have secure accommodation increases the risk of sleeping rough, puts their health and recovery in jeopardy and means they are far more likely to relapse, become unwell or end up back in hospital.
“Many people who come to our homelessness services in Wales aren’t registered with a GP. We supported 82% of residents to register across our services in the past 12 months, that's 446 people. However, people experiencing homelessness all too often rely on A&E for minor health needs. Implementing ‘ask and act’ will help prevent homelessness and ease pressure on the NHS.”
The Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Act was recently passed by the Senedd. The Act requires public services, including Health Boards, to ask about a person’s housing situation and act if they are at risk of homelessness. This means identifying problems early and providing practical help to prevent people losing their home.