Deaths of 23 homeless people at three Glasgow hotels blamed on 'dumping' of vulnerable without support
dailyrecord.co.ukA shocking 23 homeless people died at three hotels after being sent there to safeguard their wellbeing. The death toll in Glasgow has been blamed on the dumping of vulnerable people in unsuitable accommodation, with inadequate provision for or mental health or drugs support.
A Freedom of Information request revealed that nine people died at the Alexander Thomson Hotel, with seven passing away at the Rennie Mackintosh Station Hotel and another seven at the city’s Queens Park Hotel.The 23 deaths happened after March 2020, with most believed to be during the pandemic and related to drug overdoses.The latest scandalous figures follow revelations yesterday that 250 homeless people died in Scotland in 2021 - up 52% in just four years.Housing campaigner Sean Clerkin said there should be a public inquiry into how the hotel deaths were allowed to happen.He said: “Vulnerable homeless people were dumped into these hotels with no support infrastructure of wraparound services for drug and alcohol addiction and no support for mental health.“I have written to the First Minister calling on the Scottish Government for a Public Enquiry into these 23 avoidable tragic deaths as these vulnerable homeless people were badly failed in their hour of need by the authorities.”Clerkin also said the figures reveal that there needs to be a massive increase in public spending on addiction services and mental health care, allied to the building of more social rented homes.”Responding to Clerkin’s FOI request, Chief Inspector Natalie Carr, of Police Scotland, said that Covid and the lockdown may have worsened the death rate among the homeless population.She said: “We know that members of the homeless community often have complex and multiple needs and
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