Parents of boy whose death was caused by mould-ridden flat accuse housing authority bosses of racism

The father of the two-year-old who died from a cardiac arrest caused by a mould-infested housing association flat is urging authorities to ‘stop housing people in homes you know are unfit for human habitation.’

Awaab Ishak died from a respiratory condition in December 2020, just days after his second birthday – and three years after his parents had complained about the damp in their one-bedroom housing association flat in Rochdale.

His father, Faisal Abdullah, who came to the UK from Sudan as an asylum seeker in 2015, claims his family felt ‘absolutely trapped’ when the toddler fell ill. 

The family says they pleaded with doctors and housing bosses for help with the problem because he had trouble breathing. But just two days after being taken to hospital, Awaab’s condition worsened and he died four days before Christmas 2020. 

Coroner Joanne Kearsley ruled that the two-year-old died after prolonged exposure to mould at their home, on Rochdale’s Freehold estate, leading to fatal breathing difficulties. A post-mortem examination discovered ‘severe swelling’ of the boy’s airway and throat. Tests also found fungus in his blood, an inquest heard.

Following six days of evidence at Rochdale Coroners Court, Ms Kearsley said Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) should have acted to deal with the issue between July 2020 and the toddler’s death. She also found that ventilation at their home was ‘not effective’, and criticised the landlord’s approach of blaming the family for the problem – insisting there was ‘no evidence that the ways of living by the family were in any way excessive’.

During the course of the inquest, the court heard that a number of RBH workers assumed the family were taking on ‘ritual bathing’ involving a ‘bucket’ which was leading to excess water on the bathroom floor.

But workers never asked the family directly about this, and Mr Abdullah told the court his family showered, and such ‘rituals’ were not in his family’s ‘culture’.

Mr Abdullah issued a message to the RBH today, telling officials to ‘stop discriminating, stop being racist, [and] stop providing unfair treatment to people coming from abroad who are refugees or asylum seekers.’

‘We were left feeling absolutely worthless at the hands of RBH,’ he said. ‘If RBH ever come across similar issues again – we hope they deal with it in a more humane, efficient, professional way than how they behaved with us.’

Awaab Ishak tragically died from a respiratory condition in December 2020, just over a week after his second birthday

Senior coroner Joanne Kearsley argues the death of a toddler who suffered prolonged exposure to mould should be a ‘defining moment’ for the housing sector

Senior coroner Joanne Kearsley, presenting her findings at an inquest at Rochdale Coroner’s Court today, said the boy’s father alerted the Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) of the mould problem in July 2020

Ms Kearsley said the mould was due to ‘normal daily living activities’ and a lack of effective ventilation

Awaab’s death was caused by mould in the Rochdale housing association flat in where he lived with his father and mother Aisha Aminin.

Mr Abdullah had reported mould developing in the property to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) in 2017 – but was told to ‘paint over it’.

The RBH was notified of the mould problem again in 2020. 

But ‘no action was taken’ to treat and prevent the mould, leaving Awaab with ‘prolonged’ and ‘chronic’ exposure to the substance.

The coroner also criticised the medical advice given to the boy’s parents after he developed breathing difficulties, ruling it attributed to his cardiac arrest.

As she delivered her damning verdict, senior coroner Joanne Kearsley told the inquest at Rochdale Coroner’s Court: ‘I’m sure I’m not alone in having thought, ‘How does this happen? 

‘How, in the UK in 2020, does a two-year-old child die from exposure to mould in his home?’. 

‘The tragic death of Awaab will and should be a defining moment for the housing sector in terms of increasing knowledge, increasing awareness and a deepening of understanding surrounding the issue of damp and mould.’

In her findings, the coroner described Awaab as ‘an engaging, lively, endearing two-year-old’.

In June 2020, Mr Abdullah instructed solicitors and initiated a claim over the recurring issue but policy meant any repairs would not be done until an agreement had been reached, the inquest heard.

A health visitor also contacted RBH to raise the issue in July 2020 and an inspection that month found mould in the kitchen, bathroom and a bedroom cupboard needed treatment.

Ms Kearsley said the mould was due to ‘normal daily living activities’ and a lack of effective ventilation.

She said: ‘I find as a matter of fact that no action was taken and, from July 2020 until December 2020, Awaab continued to have chronic exposure to harmful mould.’

Ms Kearsley also criticised advice first given to Mr Abdullah to ‘paint over the mould’ in 2017, when he had never experienced the issue before.

The final failure affecting Awaab’s life would ultimately prove to have the gravest consequences. The toddler was admitted to Rochdale Urgent Care Centre with breathing difficulties on December 19, 2020.

He was transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital for further observation, where he was treated for croup by Dr Phillipa Marshall. With lockdown restrictions in place at the time, only one parent was allowed to be with Awaab at the hospital, and his mum stayed with him.

Dr Marshall told the court she used Google Translate to communicate with Ms Aminin, whose English was more limited than Mr Abdullah’s. As she discharged the toddler, Dr Marshall advised that Awaab should ‘go to hospital’ if he struggled with his breathing again, but she did not specify Royal Oldham Hospital.

Awaab’s family contacted community nurses on the morning of December 21 as Awaab’s breathing deteriorated, before Mr Abdullah took his son to Rochdale Urgent Care Centre on December 21. Awaab was transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital and suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of respiratory failure.

Northern Care Alliance, the NHS trust which runs both sites, admits that Awaab ‘would not have died at the time he did on the balance of probabilities’ if he had been admitted to Royal Oldham Hospital sooner that day. Dr Sri Nagesh Panasa, who carried out a review into the case, said Awaab would have benefitted from being seen by additional staff with specialist expertise at Oldham.

However, the coroner did not conclude the actions of RBH or Northern Care Alliance, the NHS trust which oversees Royal Oldham Hospital and Rochdale Urgent Care Centre, were gross failures that could amount to ‘neglect’.

Following the conclusion, a statement was read outside the court on behalf of Awaab’s father.

It read, in part: ‘Awaab’s coughing fits would sometimes last two to three days. There were days we wouldn’t be able to take Awaab out of the house because of how bad his coughing was – but of course by him staying in the house, this made his coughing worse. We were absolutely trapped.

The coroner also criticised the medical advice given to the boy’s parents after he developed breathing difficulties, alleging it attributed to his cardiac arrest

His condition was caused by mould in the one-bedroom housing association flat where he lived with parents Faisal Abdullah and Aisha Aminin in Rochdale, Greater Manchester

In June 2020, Mr Abdullah instructed solicitors and initiated a claim over the recurring issue but policy meant any repairs would not be done until an agreement had been reached, the inquest heard 

‘Living in these conditions affected every aspect of our lives. We didn’t feel at peace with ourselves when in the property. All the time we felt troubled.

‘We were anxious and fearful of what the mould was doing to Awaab. Whenever friends would come to visit, they would tell us that the conditions RBH were keeping us in ‘were not right’.

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

‘RBH we have a message for you – stop discriminating, stop being racist, stop providing unfair treatment to people coming from abroad who are refugees or asylum seekers, stop housing people in homes you know are unfit for human habitation. We were left feeling absolutely worthless at the hands of RBH.

In a statement, RBH chief executive Gareth Swarbrick said he was ‘truly devastated’ by Awaab’s death and insisted the organisation would learn lessons from it.

‘I am truly devastated about Awaab’s death and the things we got wrong. We know that nothing we can say will bring Awaab back or be of any consolation to his family. We have and will continue to learn hard lessons from this,’ Mr Swarbrick said.

‘We didn’t recognise the level of risk to a little boy’s health from the mould in the family’s home. We allowed a legal disrepair process, widely used in the housing sector, to get in the way of promptly tackling the mould.

Mr Swarbrick continued: ‘We must make sure this can never happen again. Awaab’s death needs to be a wake-up call for everyone in housing, social care and health. We will take responsibility for sharing what we have learnt about the impact to health of damp, condensation and mould with the social housing sector and beyond.

‘We support the coroner and Housing Ombudsman’s call for the government’s Decent Homes Standard to be strengthened to include damp and mould, and the coroner’s decision to write to the Ministers of Housing and Health on this. The coroner recognised the changes we have made to our procedures, IT, communications and training.

‘We note the coroner’s words that she was impressed with the learning RBH has taken and desire to share with others. As a result, she will not be issuing us with a Prevention of Future of Deaths Report. We agree with the coroner that the tragic death of Awaab will be and should be a defining moment for the housing sector.’

Awaab was taken to Rochdale Urgent Care Centre on December 19 with shortness of breath and transferred to Royal Oldham Hospital before being discharged, the court heard.

The coroner said the family should have been told to call an ambulance or take him directly to Royal Oldham Hospital if he had further difficulties.

Awaab deteriorated the next day and his parents were advised by the Community Children’s Nursing Team to take him back to the Rochdale Urgent Care Centre.

He went into respiratory arrest and then cardiac arrest while being transferred to Oldham, the inquest heard.

He died after arriving at Oldham.

The coroner said: ‘Awaab Ishak died as a result of a severe respiratory condition caused due to prolonged exposure to mould in his home environment.

‘Action to treat and prevent the mould was not taken. His respiratory condition led to respiratory arrest.

‘The medical advice given to his parents led to Awaab receiving suboptimal ventilation of his airway which was unable to prevent his cardiac arrest.’

Ms Kearsley said the issue is ‘not simply a Rochdale problem’ and should be a ‘defining moment’ for the housing sector.

She will be writing a report for the prevention of future deaths and will also write to the minister for Housing, and Health Secretary Steve Barclay, to raise issues.

Addressing the toddler’s parents, she said: ‘I hope you know that Awaab will, I am sure, make a difference for other people.’

More resources for social housing are required, the chairman of the Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee has urged after Awaab’s death.

Labour MP Clive Betts told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: ‘We can’t ignore the problem of resources for social housing providers.

‘In 2010 social housing had the biggest cuts to its programmes of any part of government, and since then we’ve had the problems of post-Grenfell, of cladding and building safety.

‘Social housing providers have been asked to provide all those extra work, to solve those problems with no extra resources.

‘There are major challenges around.

‘Improvements to housing, improving insulation, improving heating systems, making them more energy efficient, so at this challenging time for the cost of living, people can actually afford to switch them on, is a major issue that the Government should be addressing.’

Mr Abdullah reported mould developing in the Tweedale Street flat to RBH in 2017 and was told to paint over it, the coroner revealed today

Caroline Ridley, a health visitor who was supporting Awaab and his family, told the inquest she sent a letter to RBH which supported the family’s request to be moved into a more suitable home.

Her letter did not receive a response. 

In a written statement read at the inquest, former apprentice in RBH’s Homechoice team Lorna O’Malley said she filed the letter on an IT system.

But vital information about the home and the family’s living conditions were not accessible to all staff examining their file. 

This was blamed on IT systems not being used properly, or by all staff. 

Phil Heron, who joined RBH as head of customer experience in September 2021, told Ms Kearsley that work is now ongoing to ensure all relevant staff are using the correct IT system. 

With RBH executives Nadhia Khan and Sarah Robinson watching proceedings in court, Mr Heron said the system would also remind staff about important information that should be collected when logging a complaint about mould.

He told the court that RBH staff will get an app on their phones to give them access to an interpreter in an attempt to make their services more accessible for tenants with limited English.

In the almost two years since Awaab’s death, RBH has also laid the groundwork to roll out a new system to deal with tenants’ complaints about mould. 

Joanne Hill, customer service lead at RBH, said the new system will make it clear for technical inspectors to see if children are living at the property. 

She also suggested a ‘higher priority’ could be given in future when issues are raised where there are children involved or a risk to health.

Asked whether other housing associations faced challenges over damp and mould, Mr Heron insisted social landlords should learn from Awaab’s case ‘as a sector’.