The chief executive of a housing organisation has been removed “with immediate effect” after a two-year-old boy died from exposure to mould. Earlier this week, an inquest into the death of Awaab Ishak found he died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould in the one-bedroom housing association flat where he lived with his parents, Faisal Abdullah and Aisha Amin, in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
Gareth Swarbrick, chief executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), has lost his position, it was announced on Saturday. A statement read: “Our original instincts were for Gareth to stay on to see the organisation through this difficult period and to make the necessary changes, but we all recognise that this is no longer tenable.
“The coroner noted that RBH had made changes as a result of the tragic death of Awaab. Under new leadership, RBH will continue to embed these changes and to continue to drive further improvements to our homes and to our communications with tenants.
“We are committed to sharing what we have learnt about the impact to health of damp, condensation and mould with the social housing sector, and to supporting sector-wide changes. We will work with other agencies local and national and with central government in implementing the wider changes recommended to them by the coroner.”
Awaab’s inquest heard that concerns about the mould in the family’s flat had been raised with RBH a number of times but no action had been taken. Mr Swarbrick initially refused to step down, saying: "The conversation around my position has begun to overshadow the most important part of all of this, which is that a family has lost their child."
In a statement after the inquest hearing earlier this week, the youngster’s family said: “We cannot tell you how many health professionals we’ve cried in front of and Rochdale Boroughwide Housing staff we have pleaded to, expressing concern for the conditions ourselves and Awaab have been living in.
“We shouted out as loudly as we could, but despite making all of those efforts, every night we would be coming back to the same problem.”
In her findings, the coroner described Awaab as “an engaging, lively, endearing two-year-old”. She said Mr Abdullah reported mould developing in the Tweedale Street flat to RBH in 2017 and was told to paint over it.
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.
RBH said it will work to appoint an external interim chief executive.
