Three days into his inquest and almost two years on from his death, housing association bosses now admit they should have been 'more proactive' about damp and mould at Awaab Ishak's home. The bombshell announcement came this afternoon (November 8), as Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) informed coroner Joanne Kearsley it had taken on board comments made earlier in the inquest.
The housing association owns and manages the Freehold estate in Rochdale, which includes the Ilminster block, where Awaab had lived throughout his short life. He died aged just two on December 21, 2020, after suffering respiratory problems that led to cardiac arrest on his way from Rochdale Urgent Care Centre to Royal Oldham Hospital.
Home Office pathologist Dr Philip Lumb told the court yesterday that mould was the 'most plausible, or only explanation' for Awaab's fatal breathing conditions. Today, in front of Awaab's father Faisal Abdullah and before any of its representatives had given evidence under oath in court, RBH accepted its approach to damp and mould at his home had been 'inappropriate'.
