A good few years ago, a body was found in Niddry Street just off Edinburgh’s High Street, at the service entrance to the Whistle Binkie’s pub, a popular late-night haunt with live music.

It didn’t take long to discover that the poor fellow had been unconscious in a toilet cubicle and couldn’t be roused by staff at closing time. It was later revealed at a fatal accident inquiry in 2000 that a doorman had carried him outside and left him on the pavement with the bin bags, where he probably inhaled his own vomit and died.

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........

© Herald Scotland