People who have had to seek emergency accommodation after being made homeless say they are being forced to live in a hotel where a man is alleged to have lain dead for two days and fears over a potential scabies outbreak were allegedly ignored. The Welsh Government is funding budget hotel the Castle in Merthyr Tydfil town centre to offer its more than 40 rooms to people who have found themselves unintentionally homeless in the midst of a well-documented housing crisis.
But some of those who have stayed there have claimed that the hotel is not an appropriate setting for the many vulnerable people now being housed there. One man reported “freezing” in his room because his window wouldn’t close, finding drug paraphernalia under his bed, a toilet without a seat, and a shower with no running water.
Others staying in the hotel in Castle Street also reported dirty laundry stained with blood and faeces being left in the corridor while there were fears over a scabies outbreak. One woman whose partner was a resident at the hotel caught scabies. She was so concerned her condition might affect other residents she contacted the council but she said she received no reply. WalesOnline has been shown emails she sent to Merthyr Tydfil council raising her concerns over a potential outbreak in the hotel.
Despite the financial difficulties of those staying in the hotel there are limited cooking facilities inside the hotel meaning many are paying significant money each week to eat. They are not the first people in temporary accommodation who have told similar stories. Families staying at a Holiday Inn in the Vale of Glamorgan have also told of their difficult experiences inside the isolated hotel, which you can read here.
Last month councillors in Merthyr Tydfil discussed the local authority’s report revealing an “overreliance” on unsuitable B&B and hotel accommodation to house homeless people. The report said there has been “increased demand” on the homelessness service and the need for affordable properties as well as the need for support accommodation for those who are not yet ready to sustain independent tenancies. It said that single bedroom homes and additional supported accommodation are particularly required to meet demand in Merthyr. The report explains how in March 2020 the “no-one left out” approach was introduced in response to lockdown which saw a further significant increase in demand for temporary accommodation.
Kerry Keightley, whose partner Marek Ksiazek stayed at the Castle Hotel until last month, said: “Marek was left with nowhere to live and ended up there and I was horrified to be honest about the state of the place and what people are expected to put up with. It feels like now they’re off the street and hidden away what is happening isn’t a problem. It’s essentially a holding pen – there are vulnerable people in there and no-one is receiving the help they need and yet the mantra is ‘no-one left out’."
Kerry went on to allege: “A guy died in the hotel and he was in his room for two days before being discovered. That was the week before Easter." The man was found dead in the property and emergency services including paramedics and police confirmed they were called to the scene at 12pm on the day.
"There are no cooking facilities other than a microwave," Kerry continued. "The shower doesn’t work at all. No water comes out of the shower head.”
Last month Kerry contracted scabies and said she emailed and called Merthyr council but is yet to receive a response. She said this was due to her being a "third party". It left her so worried she is now relieved that Marek has left the hotel.
“Any attempt I’ve made to try and contact the council has gone ignored,” she said. “It’s very serious. This could turn into a serious public health issue. All I want is for them to engage with me. I’ve tried to say to them: ‘We’ve had scabies so even if it didn’t originate from the hotel we’ve had it and everyone is putting their bedding in the corridor outside their rooms and it’s a health hazard.”
Marek claims he’s walked out of his room at the hotel to find blood-stained pillow cases on the floor in a pile and bed sheets stained with faeces. “Three times I’ve walked out into the corridor and seen the washing full of s*** and blood," he said. "When I moved in in December I found a tray under the bed with drugs on it. I couldn’t use the toilet because there was no seat on it. Eventually another resident offered to fix the toilet in my room – not the hotel owner. I had to go to Tesco to go to the toilet. It’s freezing cold at night because the window didn’t close.”
Kerry said: “There seems to be a feeling that we should just be grateful because Marek had a roof over his head. But the hotel is profiting from this system. The people inside there are not expecting a five-star service but you’d expect a reasonable standard of hygiene. Since Covid the pressure on councils to get people off the street is huge but what conditions are like inside these hotels and B&Bs is not reported enough.”
A spokeswoman for Merthyr Tydfil council said: "Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council has been relying on B&Bs such as the Castle Hotel for a number of years – more so in the past two to three years following the ‘no-one left out’ Welsh Government guidance issued at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
"The council uses these B&Bs to provide emergency temporary accommodation to those who would be street homeless without the support. In the Castle Hotel there are two dedicated housing-related support workers in attendance Monday to Friday, offering 74 hours per week of direct support to the clients – and often providing more of their time. In addition clients may have individual support workers who are also in contact on a regular basis.
"Due to the size of the accommodation we also provide two additional security officers to assist staff at the hotel during evenings and weekends – one upstairs and one downstairs to ensure all floors are covered. At first this was to manage the public health emergency but it has since continued to ensure there are staff on site seven days a week.
"The accommodation is provided free of charge to applicants referred from the council’s housing team and the hotel provides bedding and towels to guests. Residents are supported to maintain a safe and clean environment.
"The hotel also provides cooking facilities, including microwaves in communal spaces, which are available for use by residents and operate within fire safety rules and regulations. The MTCBC staff carry out inspections and checks on both the welfare of residents and the rooms and facilities to ensure there are no unmet support needs that need to be addressed.
"Individual complaints or issues are handled swiftly within the housing team and complaints are dealt with via the corporate complaints policy and procedures. In terms of the client who sadly passed away we are unable to comment on individual cases due to GDPR."
A spokesman for the Castle Hotel said: "MTCBC (Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council) is at all times responsible for those that reside at the Castle Hotel including for the purposes of addressing grievances, responding to ad hoc queries, and providing further assistance etc. MTCBC staff are available at the hotel 24/7 with dedicated support personnel at the hotel Monday to Friday available in a private room within the hotel. These dedicated support personnel also inspect rooms and the state of facilities on a daily basis and have arranged for limited catering facilities at the hotel.
"The responsibilities of the hotel are limited to providing clean linen to guests on a daily basis, with guests leaving their dirty linens for collection outside of their rooms during certain allocated times, and clearing all rubbish and emptying bins for residents; once again, with rubbish being left outside of guest rooms during certain prescribed times. In each case [this is] free of charge to guests.
"Being a hotel there are no laundry facilities available for guests for their private use nor are there full catering facilities. MTCBC is responsible and provides guidance for guests in addressing these needs. The hotel is not responsible for cleaning guest rooms whilst they are occupied however does promptly attend to all maintenance issues that are reported to it by MTCBC."
The spokesman claimed Marek was "asked to leave the premises after having been found to be smoking in the hotel property". They said: "Representatives of MTCBC reported that Mr Ksiazek had been smoking and, when approached by hotel personnel and the MTCBC representative, became aggressive and abusive and was therefore asked to vacate the premises."
The hotel spokesman claimed Marek's account "includes a number of false accusations" and added: For example there has been no potential scabies outbreak at the hotel – we understand from MTCBC that a homeless person did contract scabies however they were not using the hotel accommodation at the time."
Kerry added: "We dispute that the rooms are inspected on a daily basis. That was contrary to Marek's experience there. We agree that council representatives are available on the phone 24/7 and there is a representative there for a couple of hours Monday to Friday. However, in Marek's experience, complaints and issues were never addressed.
"I disagree that there was no potential scabies outbreak at the hotel. I was never saying that I was certain I had contracted it there, although I suspect it. But I could actually have been the source of a potential infection. I'm not exactly sure how anyone can be sure that the homeless person who also contracted scabies did not become infected at the Castle. The person did reside in the Castle for a period of time and scabies can be infectious for up to eight weeks before symptoms even appear.
"Marek denies smoking on the premises and had been using Nicorette products, including an inhaler device as residents are not allowed to leave the building between certain hours, in order to cope with the nicotine withdrawal overnight. He had actually decided to attempt to give up and was being given advice from a pharmacist.
"Complaints about conditions were made to the council, through the representatives, and we contacted WalesOnline before Marek was asked to leave the hotel so our actions were not in retaliation of anything. Marek denies being aggressive on being asked to leave."
READ NEXT:
- Neighbours have had 19 cars written off because drivers keeping crashing into them on busy street
- Widow wants to sue health board over her husband’s Covid death
- Landlord fined 96 times by council for parking outside his bar to unload stock
- Popular coffee shop which has been a 'lifeline' for customers closes over mounting debts
- Owners of 100-year-old garden centre devastated as the council forces them to shut half of their shops
