Thousands of babies and toddlers falling sick from damp homes in Britain, NHS doctor warns

Toddler with inhalation mask. Government data suggest more than 520,000 rented properties in England have hazards posing a serious and immediate risk to health and safety, a large proportion being cold, damp and mould. Photograph: Steve Debenport/Getty Images

Thousands of babies and toddlers are being admitted to hospital in England each year with lung conditions probably linked to damp and mould-ridden homes, a senior doctor has warned.

Dr Andy Knox, an associate medical director for the NHS, said squalid housing was having a “profoundly negative impact on the nation’s health” and worsening the crisis in the NHS.