The staff at Dublin Simon Community completed a health survey1 of clients attending its services between 26 July and 1 August 2010. The services included emergency accommodation, supported housing projects, alcohol and other drug treatment facilities, and settlement services.  

• Of 329 clients who responded to the question ascertaining diagnosed physical health conditions, just under 60% had one or more condition and just over 30% had two or more conditions. The most common conditions were hepatitis C (18%), asthma (10%), dental carries (9%) and epilepsy (6%). 

• Of 309 clients who responded to the question ascertaining undiagnosed physical health symptoms or conditions, just under 27% had one or more problem. The most common problems were wounds and injuries, muscle and bone problems, and respiratory problems.  

• Of 328 clients who responded to the question on diagnosed mental health conditions, 44% had one or more such condition and 11% had two or more conditions. The most common were depression (24%) schizophrenia (9%), bipolar (5%), and panic attacks (5%). 

• Overall, 24% of the 349 respondents had both a physical and a mental health condition. Over 10% reported undiagnosed mental and physical health conditions.  

• Of 345 clients who responded to the question on challenging behaviour, 16% reported at least one incident of aggression, violence or withdrawn behaviour. 

• Of 286 clients who responded to the query about self-harm, just under 15% reported such an incident.  

• Of 278 clients who responded to the query about suicide ideation, almost 17% reported suicidal thoughts while 25 people reported attempting suicide in the six months prior to the survey.  

• Of 349 clients who responded to the question about complications arising from alcohol consumption, 27% had experienced such complications. The complications most commonly experienced were: memory loss (39%), falls and head injuries (37%), liver damage (34%), seizures (18%) and gastric problems (13%) .  

• Of the 349 clients who responded to the survey, just under 44% (153) were current drug users. Among these, the main drugs consumed were heroin (68%), benzodiazepines (35%) and methadone (31%). Cannabis and head-shop substances were reported to a lesser extent. Of the people using drugs, 57% use two or more drug types (excluding alcohol).  

• Overall, 24% of respondents used both alcohol and drugs. 

• Of the 153 active drug users, 54% had complications arising from their drug use. The most common complications were vein damage (46%), hepatitis B and/or C (43%), and soft tissue abscesses (24%). Forty three per cent of the active drug users were diagnosed with a mental health condition 

• Eighty-one of those who took part in the survey were intravenous drug users, of whom 40% had not had a viral screening in the last 12 months. 

• Of those surveyed, over 86% were registered with a GP, while 12% were not. 

• In the month prior to the survey, 58 respondents had 85 attendances at emergency departments, 48 had attended an outpatient department and 27 had been inpatients.