'A staggering failure of even the most basic standards'

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

Had an ambulance been called rather than just dumping him on the street, he would probably have lived.
The manager admitted staff had not received health and safety training for dealing with unwell customers and there was no designated 'first aider.' The pub lost its licence for a time.
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Earlier this month, 38-year-old Sean Stephen lay dead in a toilet cubicle in the public 'hub' advice centre in the City Chambers' building for six days until he was discovered on July 7.
This surely reveals a staggering failure of even the most basic standards of hygiene and maintenance.
Admittedly, it was cleaning staff who eventually sounded the alarm, but when most of such public facilities have daily, if not hourly, maintenance logs pinned by the door, it's legitimate to ask what they were doing for the previous five days. Or indeed what the managers were doing to make sure the cleaners were doing what they were supposed to.
It has been claimed that staff thought the cubicle was locked because it was out of order, but then on the morning of July 1 it was presumably working fine, so it must not have been checked at the end of the day when the centre closed. And if it was out of order, shouldn't a manager have known and done something about it?
The hub facility provides a walk-up public advice service and as most of it relates to welfare claims and information for people with debt problems, it's fair to say its customers are often those with complex difficulties, and as it's near The Access Place which provides services for homeless people with alcohol and drug problems, security staff are on hand to deal with any issues.
Why the security personnel did not see Mr Stephen enter the toilet and failed to notice he had not left is something the investigation will need to address. It is now believed Mr Stephen did indeed have addiction issues and had been experiencing other personal difficulties, and on that basis alone alarm bells should have been ringing when his wife first reported him missing to police on the morning of July 1.
Only the police will be able to answer why it took so long for him to be traced, but like the Whistle Binkie's victim, Mr Stephen's wife Julie is entitled to believe he could have lived had he received medical attention in time.
There are several layers of failure, starting with security staff who seemingly failed to keep tabs on who was coming and going from the centre, cleaners who clearly failed to clean, but also the police who may have failed to act quickly enough on a missing person's report about someone with problems. Add these to the precedent of the Whistle Binkie's incident and a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) is a racing certainty. If it isn't it should be.
But if the Procurator Fiscal does decide an FAI is necessary, it's a two-edged sword for the family. Those involved would be called to give evidence and relatives will have a better chance of getting answers to their many questions, but it means there would be virtually no chance of an early conclusion. Two years from death to the start of a hearing is far from unusual.
There is another by-product of an FAI, which is that while councillors will inevitably have questions themselves about the actions of officers ─ not least because the impression has been created that as Mr Stephen lay dead while councillors were going about Chambers business within feet of him, which was not the case ─ they will struggle to get answers imminently. If Mr Stephen's family seek compensation it could be even longer.
Edinburgh Council officers have form for dragging their heels when it comes to anything involving the authority's reputation, be it the trams fiasco or the corruption scandal at the heart of Edinburgh Lifelong Learning ─ a sordid affair which took 20 years to settle ─ and while any front-line staff who might be found directly responsible might be moved on or even out, the chances of culpability at a senior management level are, I would contend, limited to non-existent.
As if to illustrate the point, a column in Monday's Evening News by council leader Jane Meagher ─ or more likely the Labour group office ─ made no mention of the incident. E NEEDAlong with some fluffy paragraphs about some youngsters working at a café in the Sick Kids hospital, and the Tourist Tax, it was devoted to expressing her gratitude to those nice people in the Unite, GMB and Unison trade unions for accepting a two-year pay deal 'which recognises the value of colleagues across the council and ensures that people are paid fairly for the work they do,' which presumably includes the City Chambers cleaners.
And she said a very nice thank you to all the workers during the Festival season who 'ensure that Edinburgh and our world-leading events programme remains safe, inclusive, and successful.' Not, it would seem, in the City Chambers toilets.
John McLellan is a former Edinburgh Evening News and Scotsman editor. He served as a City of Edinburgh councillor for five years. Brought up in Glasgow, McLellan has lived and worked in Edinburgh for 30 years.