“How is it possible that in the UK a 2-year-old can die from inhaling mold in his house?”

A two-year-old boy died in United Kingdom as a result of a severe respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mold in his home, a coroner concluded.

Awaab Ishak’s father repeatedly raised the issue with Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), a housing cooperative in the English town of Rochdale, on the outskirts of Manchester, but no action was taken.

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the coroner Joanne Kearsley he said RBH had not been “proactive”. “Like in United Kingdom in 2020, could a 2-year-old child die from exposure to mold?” he questioned.

He added that the case “should be a watershed moment for the housing sector.”

Awaab’s parents said that their lives “changed forever” when their son died in December 2020, and that they “felt absolutely worthless in RBH’s hands.”

“We cannot tell you how many health professionals we have cried and RBH staff we have pleaded with, expressing concern about the conditions in which Awaab and ourselves have been living,” the family said through their lawyer after the audience.

“We yelled as loud as we could, but despite making those efforts, every night we came back to the same problem.”

They also asked RBH to “stop being racist” and accused her of providing “unfair treatment” to immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

“We have no doubt that we were treated this way because we are not from this country and are less aware of how systems work in the UK.”

RBH chief executive Gareth Swarbrick responded by saying his organization would continue to “learn hard lessons”.

He assured that the business would always support the “diverse communities of Rochdale”.

Difficulty breathing

The Rochdale Coroner’s Court heard from Awaab’s father, Faisal Abdullah, who left Sudan in 2016 to live in the UK and joined his wife, Aisha Amin, a year later, and reported that mold was growing in Awaab’s apartment. a room to RBH in 2017 and was told to paint over it.

The following year, Awaab was born prematurely at 31 weeks, but no health professional had cared about her development.

Awaab Ishak’s father reported several times that there was mold in his house.

In June 2020, Abdullah instructed lawyers and started a claim for the recurring problem of mold, but the policy meant that no repairs would be made until an agreement was reached.

The court heard that Awaab was taken to the Rochdale Urgent Care Center on 19 December of that year with difficulty breathing and transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital before being released.

He deteriorated the next day and the community children’s nursing team advised his parents to take him back to the urgent care center.

He then went into respiratory arrest and cardiac arrest while being transported to the hospital and died after arriving there.

Stuffiness

Delivering a conclusion, the Manchester North senior coroner said the ventilation in the one-bedroom apartment was ineffective.

“This was a factor that cDirectly contributed to the growth of moldKearsley said.

“RBH recognizes this, and I actually believe that a more proactive response should have been taken to address the mold that was present,” he said.

He added that Abdullah had “some comprehension and ability to converse in English” but his wife had “very little”, a fact that was important as it affected “the ability of professionals to engage in conversation with the family and the ability of the family to explain any worries or concerns they had and to understand the advice.”

Awaab had constantly suffered from cold and respiratory problems throughout his life.

In September 2020, a community midwife completed a special circumstances form for children’s services highlighting concerns about mold and the potential impact on your health.

But Kearsley said that document was not shared with the GP or health visitor and there was no evidence to show it was received by children’s services or that “any action was taken”.

the void of death

In a statement read by attorney Kelly Darlington after the inquest, Awaab’s family said he had always been “full of smiles, liked to joke and was full of life.”

They said the last two years had been “exhausting” and that his death had left “a huge void” in their lives.

They added that RBH needed “stop discriminating, stop being racist, stop treating people coming from abroad who are refugees or asylum seekers unfairly (and) stop housing people in homes you know are unfit.”

Swarbrick said he was “really devastated by Awaab’s death and the things we got wrong.”

“We know that nothing we can say will bring Awaab back or be of any comfort to his family,” he said.

“We failed to recognize the level of health risk to a young child from mold in the family’s home (and) allowed a blight legal process, widely used in the housing sector, to get in the way of addressing mold right away.”

proud of work

Responding to the family’s comments that RBH needed to “stop discriminating and stop being racist” against refugees or asylum seekers, he said: “As a community organisation, we support the diverse communities of Rochdale.

“We are proud of the work we do with all of our tenants.”

He said Awaab’s death “should be a wake-up call for everyone in housing, social care and health.”

“We will take responsibility for sharing what we have learned about the health impact of damp, condensation and mold with the social housing sector and beyond,” he added.

The coroner said she will write a report for the prevention of future deaths and will write to Housing Minister and Health Secretary Steve Barclay to raise issues.

The BBC contacted the Department for Leveling, Housing and Communities for comment but had no reply at the time of writing.

How dangerous is mold?

Analysis by Philippa Roxby, BBC News health journalist

Mold is caused by excess moisture in a building and emits spores that can cause a variety of health effects.

Some people are especially sensitive to them, such as babies and young children, the elderly, and people with allergies or asthma.

For allergy sufferers, breathing in or touching mold spores can cause severe reactions such as asthma attacks, fever, and shortness of breath, while for others, mold can cause a runny nose, red or itchy eyes, and skin irritation.

That’s why the NHS says you’re more likely to have breathing problems, infections or asthma if you have damp or mold in your home and why the World Health Organization calls it a key contributor to indoor air pollution and one of the leading causes of disease and death worldwide.

Source: Elcomercio