Luke Brooks: Coroner urges government to take action

Luke Brooks was 27 when he died at his family's home on Huxley Street, Oldham, on October 25, 2022.

Following an inquest in August last year, it was ruled that Mr Brooks died of illnesses related to mould, although the condition of the address where the family lived was not deemed to have caused his death.

Mr Brooks had lived at the property with his family since 2014 which they rented from a private landlord.

During the inquest at Rochdale Coroners' Court, the family said they had faced many issues in the house over the years and had faced difficulties in getting them fixed.

Luke Brooks died in the home he lived in with his family (Image: Brooks family via Kelly Darlington)

Now, Joanne Kearsley, who heard the inquest, has written to the government urging them to take action regarding the creation of a national register for private landlords and local policies for ambulance services.

In October 2022, Mr Brooks fell ill with cold/flu like symptoms and several discussions with out of hours medical providers via the NHS 111 call line were held.

It was twice suggested that Mr Brooks required a category three ambulance (attendance to be within 2 hours), but the court heard over the weekend prior to his death the wait time was between six and eight hours.

Mr Brooks declined the ambulances but on one occasion he asked whether he could take himself to A&E, however he was advised not to.

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This was in line with a local North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) policy that people who had described chest pain should not make their own way to A&E.

Ms Kearsley wrote to Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary at the time the report was written, and Michael Gove, the Secretary for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), urging them to make changes in order to prevent further deaths similar to Mr Brooks'.

She raised concerns over the fact there is no national register for private landlords in England, despite the fact there are registers in other countries in the UK.

Mould on the ceiling over Mr Brooks' bedroom (Image: Brooks family via Kelly Darlington)

Ms Kearsley said the lack of a national register "meant that local authorities could be hampered in not knowing up to date address/contact details when they were made aware of concerns with a privately rented property".

She added: "This is particularly important when the issue is one which is potentially life threatening ie asbestos in a property, dangerous items such as inappropriate cord blinds in a property with children or excessive damp."

She also said NWAS' policy of suggesting people with chest pain to not present themselves to A&E had since been revised and removed by the service, but that she did not know if this could be set out in local policies of other ambulance services.

Ms Kearlsey wrote to the two secretaries: "In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe each of you respectively have the power to take such action."

Mr Gove responded to Ms Kearsley by saying the DLUHC was taking action to address the lack of a register of private landlords in England.

He said The Renters (Reform) Bill was introduced to parliament in May last year and includes provision for a new private rented sector database that will support the new Privately Rented Property Portal digital service.

The bill is subject to parliamentary approval, and, if passed, all private residential landlords will be legally required to register with the Property Portal, and to provide certain information relating to the properties they let.

The service will help landlords understand their legal obligations, give tenants the information they need to make informed choices before entering into a tenancy agreement.

It will also allow local housing authorities to identify poor quality and non-compliant properties and who owns them, and take prompt action where appropriate.

Mr Gove added that the DLUHC was taking action to tackle damp and mould in properties as both him and the former Mr Barclay had published a guide outlining the health risks of damp and mould in September last year following the death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale in 2020.

He also said he has worked with local council executives and leaders to set out expectations when it comes to tackling poor housing conditions.

In response to Ms Kearlsey's report, Helen Whately, Minister for Social Care, said that no blanket policies were in place across ambulance trusts in England and that NHS 111 calls were dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

She added that there may be instances where patients are advised not to go to A&E on their own, including where patients with chest pain have no alternative but to drive themselves to A&E, then it may be recommended that patients wait for an ambulance in order to protect themselves and other road users.

Another instance Ms Whately mentioned was where an ambulance service clinician recommends that moving a patient may do more harm by going to A&E than waiting for the ambulance to arrive on scene.

She added that all patients calling 111 where it has been decided they need an ambulance, will be given interim advice which includes what to do should their condition worsen.

A solicitor on behalf of NWAS wrote to Ms Kearsley saying patients will now be asked if they can make their own way to hospital and that 111 advisors must be clear that, wherever possible, a patient is refusing an ambulance with this being confirmed directly with the patient.