‘The kids were in A&E so often, we were on first name terms with staff’
The death of toddler Awaab Ishak was a tragedy that rekindled awful memories for Stacey Lamb, writes Marion Scott.
The two-year-old died in 2020, and last month a coroner ruled his deteriorating health was caused by mould and dampness in the social housing flat his family rented from Rochdale Boroughwide Housing.
Lamb, who spent five years fighting to be moved from her black mould-riddled home, remembers taking her three children to A&E with breathing difficulties caused by the fungus. Stacey said: “It is shameful a two-year-old boy lost his life before authorities were held to account but the fact is that thousands of families right across Scotland have been living in similar conditions for decades and nobody was taking any notice.
“I spent five years battling to get my three children out of our mould-infested home, living in constant terror that one of them may lose their life before we could get a property that wasn’t a danger to our health.”
Stacey, 37, an emergency call handler for the ambulance service, finally had to resort to legal action to get moved from her Glasgow Housing Association home in Baillieston, Glasgow, last year, to another property.
She said: “I had doctor’s reports which stated my children were suffering chronic breathing problems, asthma and bronchial issues as a result of the mould. But time and again the landlord would simply treat and paint over the mould to cover it up rather than eradicating it from the property.
“All that ever did was cover the issue up for a couple of months until the mould came back worse than ever. My kids were constantly ill and having to attend hospital.
“My nightmare was that one of them may develop a major asthma attack and die. As an emergency call handler for the ambulance service, I know only too well how dangerous asthma can be.
“My daughter Kayla’s respiratory health deteriorated so badly, she had to be taken to hospital and placed on a nebuliser to allow her to breathe.
“We were on first name terms with A&E staff because we were in so often. It not only affected our physical health. It was a constant cause of stress. Our clothes stank of dampness and we felt embarrassed having anyone in our home with the walls covered in spores from floor to ceiling.”
A year ago, the family got another house when, Lamb says, their health improved immediately, adding: “I had to withhold my rent for months and threaten legal action before the housing association agreed to move us.
“We had to throw away every single thing we owned before we moved into the new house because the mould infested everything, our clothes, shoes, furniture, even personal belongings. It cost me thousands to start again, but at least we got out.”
An independent report into the Baillieston property found the house was not habitable because of mould, and the infestation was damaging to the health of occupants. Stacey is now one of a growing number of families taking action against housing providers for failing to provide a habitable home. Wheatley Homes are Scotland’s biggest housing providers with 93,600 homes. Tenant chair of Wheatley Homes Glasgow, Bernadette Hewitt, said: “Complaints about damp or mould are investigated within 48 hours and we aim to complete repairs within 15 days. This issue is a major priority for us and dealt with as a matter of urgency.”
Hewitt said due to Covid restrictions, repairs to the Lamb family home were delayed.
She said: “A series of repairs was carried out in the flat over 2018-2019. However, due to Covid-19 government restrictions, we were unable, unfortunately, to enter the home and tackle the mould issue in 2020.
“As soon as the restrictions were lifted, all of the affected areas were treated.”