A&E FIGURES HIGHLIGHT MISERY OF SLEEPING ROUGH
HOMELESS people are nearly four times as likely to end up in A&E than Scots from the wealthiest parts of the country.
The Record uncovered the stark difference as the SNP Government prepare to unveil plans to tackle the scandal of rough sleeping and homelessness.
The massive barriers facing people on the streets will be acknowledged by the Scottish by ANDY PHILIP Government at Holyrood today.
A study of 2.12million Scots, published this month, showed people who are or have been homeless were twice as likely as the poorest people in the country to go to casualty.
The chances of homeless people ending up at A&E are three-and-a-half times higher than those for the least deprived Scots. Among women, it’s just under four times higher.
About half of the homeless people who featured in the study had no evidence of conditions relating to drugs, alcohol or mental health.
The figure is lower than the groups from the poorest and wealthiest areas.
The Record revealed yesterday how campaigners were demanding more cash to fix the homeless crisis. The SNP have committed less than £1million of the £50million allocated on paper over five years to tackle the problem.
A petition at Holyrood, kept open by MSPs, suggests £40million should be spent up front to make sure everyone affected gets off the streets and into a decent home.
Labour Housing spokesperson Pauline McNeill said the scale of the impact on acute hospital services shows how bad the situation has become.
She said: “Labour introduced world-leading legislation with a view to ending homelessness in Scotland because a home should be a human right.
“The Government have dragged their heels over tackling the problems with homelessness.”