‘Mouldy flat making me so ill
MUM HAS BEEN INTO INTENSIVE CARE WITH BREATHING PROBLEMS THREE TIMES AND HER DOCTORS ARE DEMANDING SHE IS MOVED FOR THE SAKE OF HER HEALTH
TOXIC mould at a flat in Coventry is believed to have caused a life-threatening asthma attack when a woman developed repeated chest infections putting her in intensive care three times.
Forty-five year old Emma Brankin says she cannot sleep in her own bedroom because of the black mould growing on her windows and walls at her home in Tile Hill. She says doctors are now asking for her to be moved because they believe the mould is contributing to the ICU stays.
Emma says she has repeatedly asked her landlords Citizen Housing for help but claims they have done nothing to fix the problem. Since moving to Jardine Crescent in 2009 she said she has suffered problems with her lungs, including pleurisy, pneumonia and interstitial lung disease.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that her asthma was well-controlled before moving to the block. In response, Citizen Housing said it takes issues with damp and mould seriously and it is “proactively tackling” incidents in its properties.
Emma said: “It’s affecting my life really badly. I’ve been in hospital that many times since 2019, I couldn’t give you a number, I’ve actually lost count. But now it’s putting me repeatedly in intensive care.”
Asked where the mould in her flat is at its worst, she said: “In the bedrooms. In my son’s old room, it’s along not the window frame but the panel in front of it, it’s all thick black.
“On my outside, inside and when I’ve got my window open fully it’s black. My air vents have got mould in them, the ceiling in my bedroom and going down the side of the wall in my bedroom is mouldy.”
Last month, after sleeping in her bedroom, Emma developed a chest infection and says three courses of antibiotics couldn’t clear it. She said she then had an asthma attack so severe her next of kin were called.
She said she had to be put into a coma and on a breathing machine for a week. When she eventually left hospital, she was back within two days due to another attack.
“This has been my life for the last year,” Emma said. “But’s not just about me, even when I get a move from here this block needs to be sorted. “There’s not a day or a week that goes by when somebody in the block isn’t ill with their chest.”
But she claims that when she and others asked for help from Citizen they were “fobbed off.”
“Myself and other people in my block have repeatedly reported the mould and damp problem in our block. I’ve asked our housing officer and I was fobbed off with ‘oh it’s poor ventilation’ yet I have every single window in my flat bar one open at this time of year.”
She said two of her neighbours have had the same experience of reporting mould and nothing being done about it. She said: “They just come up with different excuses - poor ventilation, or you’ve got a tumble dryer, or this or that.
“They just fob everybody off and say it’s our responsibility to clear the mould up but I’m not being funny it’s not. How are you supposed to clean it up when just sitting in the flat or in the building
They just fob everybody off and say it’s our responsibility to clear the mould up but I’m not being funny it’s not Emma Brankin
causes you to have life-threatening asthma attacks?”
After an enquiry from the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Chief Operating Officer Madeleine Nelson gave us the following statement:
“At Citizen we take issues with damp and mould really seriously and are proactively tackling incidents in our properties. We have responded to reports of issues with damp and mould at two properties at Jardine Crescent, resolving one by cleaning, treating the area and painting with anti-mould paint.
“We are working closely with the resident at the second property to gain access to resolve the problem. A member of our asset management team has inspected the communal areas of Jardine Crescent today and the roof of the emergency fire escape does have a small amount of mould that we will be cleaning, treating, and then covering with PVC material that will make it easier to clean in the future.
“We will also be installing ventilation into the storage area to prevent the build-up of mould. All of our blocks and
communal areas, used on a daily basis by our residents, are regularly inspected and cleaned.
“Following the Housing Ombudsman’s Damp and Mould report in Oct 2021 we have taken a strategic approach when it comes to tackling damp and mould.
“Based on the Ombudsman’s recommendations we’ve analysed our properties to identify those most likely to be affected, carried out work and repairs to reduce incidents, used new software to help us target poorly insulated homes, continued to upgrade heating systems, and set up a dedicated damp and mould team who respond to repairs that are specific to this issue.
“We do rely on customers reporting specific problems so that we can respond quickly, this is especially important if there is damp and mould in the property.
“If any of the residents at Jardine Crescent, or in any other Citizen properties are currently experiencing issues with damp and mould, please get in touch and we will investigate further.”