Grandmother 'waiting for the next time' she ends up in hospital as black mould covers home

A Wirral grandmother claims a housing provider is not doing enough to tackle black mould in the flat she has called home for more than half a century, despite it sending her to hospital three times.

Celia Park, who lives on Boyd Close in Moreton, said black mould returned in her flat shortly after coming back from hospital after treatment for bacterial pneumonia. Her home is managed by Prima Housing, a housing association that oversees 2,700 properties across Wirral, Liverpool and Sefton.

The mould has been found in several areas of the flat, including in her grandson’s bedroom, and Mrs Park said she had to throw away several coats after noticing they smelled and went mouldy in the hallway.

She said she has been in hospital for several weeks needing oxygen, and her grandson is now also becoming unwell. She accused Prima of failing to get to the bottom of the issue but the social housing provider said it was working with her taking reports of mould and condensation “very seriously.”

Mrs Park, who has lived there since 1970, said she has tried to tackle the issue by putting dehumidifiers around her flat and opening the windows when she can, adding: “It keeps coming back and it’s now at the bottom of my bed, it’s in my grandson’s room.

“All they are doing is just painting over it and it’s come back again. I can’t keep going back to hospital all the time. I only came out last week and I was in for a week. I was in last April and I was in the November previously for five weeks so that’s three times now.”

“They just keep on returning and painting it instead of getting down to the bottom of it. They should be getting down into the brickwork and finding out the problem.”

Mrs Park said she knew of others with similar issues, adding: “It worries me a lot. I just find it quite stressful being home waiting for the next time I’m going to be in hospital.”

She said a number of steps had been taken by Prima since she first raised including a new vent, adding: “The vent had been blocked off. I can’t open the windows in the winter but then I find I can’t be going in and out of hospital all the time.”

A spokesperson for Prime said take reports of mould and condensation 'very seriously' and that they have been working with Mrs Park 'to address issues around condensation and mould over recent months'.

They continued: "Independent surveys have been carried out at the property, which did not identify any underlying causes of condensation and mould. Measures have been taken to address the concerns raised and to remedy the problem, including installing a Positive Ventilation System, which circulates air in the property and removes excessive moisture that can cause mould and condensation.

“We will contact the resident directly to fully understand and assess the issues they have raised and work with them to resolve this.”