While fewer people may live on the streets of Metro Vancouver overall, significant gaps remain in the availability of primary health care for B.C.'s homeless, according to new data presented at Vancouver's Health of the Homeless Summit on Tuesday.

Homeless youth are sharply affected. Fifty per cent have regular access to a family doctor, compared to 65 per cent of homeless adults, according to findings from the 2011 B.C. Health of the Homeless Survey.

However, youth are more likely to end up in the province's emergency rooms. Sixty per cent of homeless youth surveyed had received ER treatment, compared to 55 per cent of adults.

The survey included responses from 500 homeless participants, of which 20 per cent were youth. The survey defined youth as under 24 years of age.

Youth-specific health care -- particularly specialist care for mental health issues that more commonly strike young people, such as bipolar disorder -- is lacking in B.C., and often a bad experience in the health care system deters them from seeking care and perpetuates the problem, said the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences' Dr. Michael Krausz, who presented the survey's findings.

"The capacity for... specialized care is really, really low," he said. And as a youth, "if you're drug-using, and you then go into an emergency room or a hospital, very often things are reduced to your substance abuse, and you don't get the appropriate treatment in time, or you have to wait a long time, or you're not treated in a respectful way."

"It would be very good to have a fast-track system for youth, a specialized access point (for health care), and specialized youth clinics in primary care."

The number of homeless youth in Metro Vancouver rose 29 per cent from 2008 numbers, up to 349, despite the total number of homeless decreasing. But, the spike may have been influenced by a new counting strategy used this year to address previous undercount issues.

The survey also highlighted the importance of early interventions for childhood trauma, mental health and addictions issues, in order to curb rates of homelessness later in life.

The final report of the 2011 survey is expected to be published in August.

Robyn Smith writes for the Tyee and others.