Latest news with #preventabledeaths
BBC News
6 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
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Meghan Owen, Tarah Welsh & Naresh Puri BBC News Family pic One-year-old Exodus Eyob died when he fell from a seventh floor window in Leeds in 2022 Thirteen children have died in falls from windows in their rented or temporary accommodation in England since 2019, according to a study into fatalities of very young and primary-school age children. Such deaths are "entirely preventable", says the authors, the NHS-funded National Child Mortality Database (NCMD). Landlords must prioritise fixing faulty windows and ensure appropriate locks are in place, they say. The findings come as a second report, from England's housing watchdog, likens the scale of window safety defects in social housing to known issues with damp and mould. The BBC has visited families living in blocks of flats in Leeds and west London who say they are "terrified" of young children falling out of "unsafe" windows. A paediatric consultant in Manchester has also told us she has treated an "unusually high number" of children who have fallen from windows in recent months. Most attend with "significant injuries", she says, from broken bones - including to the skull and jaw - to internal damage to organs like the liver. The National Housing Federation, which represents England's housing associations, told us that social landlords have increased the number of checks they do to make sure buildings are "compliant with current regulations and safety requirements". Windows in the Leeds flat where Exodus Eyob lived were not defective, ruled an inquest The 13 children in the NCMD report were all aged under 11, and died between April 2019 and the end of May 2025. In some cases, families had reported broken windows, it says. In four cases there were no locks or restrictors (which limit how far a window can open), in four more cases a lock or restrictor was present but broken, and in another four they were not in use or had been disabled. One of the children who died was Exodus Eyob, who was a year old when he fell out of an open window from the seventh floor of a Leeds tower block in 2022. The restrictor on the window had been disengaged because it was a hot day. The lawyer who represented his family at his inquest, Gareth Naylor, tells the BBC that in a "split second" of an adult leaving the room, the toddler climbed on a bed and fell. Exodus's family had complained about how wide the windows could open, the inquest heard, but the coroner ruled the death had been "accidental" and the windows were not defective. The family lost their child in "terrible circumstances", says Mr Naylor. "What they ignored during [Exodus's] inquest is that these apartments are tiny, and the bed can only go under the window." If children are housed in towers, believes Mr Naylor, "a mesh or a guard" should be added for protection. Other fatalities include five-year-old Aalim Ahmed, who fell in May 2024 from the kitchen window of a social housing flat on the 15th storey of an east London tower block - and two deaths this year of two-year-olds, one in Gloucestershire and the other in south London. Tracey McGurk is worried about the safety of her windows when her grandchildren visit The number of deaths in the NCMD study is "very distressing" says the social housing watchdog, the Housing Ombudsman Service. Its own report highlights 34 cases of "severe maladministration", where complaints were dealt with badly. More than half involved children, where windows had not been repaired. The cases are not "one-offs" and landlords should urgently address safety concerns, says the report. It is "alarming" how some window complaints have been handled by landlords and how reports of children at risk of falls are being ignored, adds housing ombudsman, Richard Blakeway. One resident in Fulham uses duct tape to try to make their windows safer Examples from the watchdog's report include a mother unable to close some of her windows properly for four years, a window coming loose from its frame in a baby's room, and residents using duct tape to hold windows together. Duct tape is also how one council tenant in west London told us he had tried to make his windows safer, because he was so worried about his nine-year-old daughter. The tenant, who lives on the Lancaster Court Estate in Fulham, also says at one point, broken handles, which the council said were unfixable, meant a window was stuck open for a week during the winter. In total, we spoke to a dozen residents on the estate, which is owned by Hammersmith and Fulham Council, and saw that visibly broken windows without handles were a widespread problem, as well as mould around window frames. The windows are a "death trap" says Tracey McGurk, who has lived in her flat for five years and is worried for her grandchildren's safety. The day after we contacted the council, it sent a team to survey the windows and found six urgent repairs were required. "We're investing more than £1m every week to refurbish and repair our ageing housing stock," a spokesperson for Hammersmith and Fulham Council said, "part of a bold, three-year strategy that includes replacing every window that has reached the end of its life." The council is "not just meeting the housing ombudsman's window safety standards, we're exceeding them," they added. According to the ombudsman's report, some landlords are delaying temporary repairs for years because it is "most cost-effective" to wait for major works. "Replacing windows can be complex and costly," says Richard Blakeway, "but there can be no justification for the conditions some residents have endured." Rise in hospital admissions At Manchester Royal Infirmary, more than double the number of children attended with major trauma from a window fall between April and June this year, than in any similar period since 2020, the BBC has been told. There have been some 14 cases this spring, "almost one a week", says Dr Noellie Mottershead, a paediatric consultant at the children's emergency department. "It's the highest number we have seen, which is worrying us," she says, adding that the majority of patients were pre-school age. The doctor says she cannot explain the high number of incidents, but the UK recorded its warmest spring on record. A lot of the families said they knew the window was broken, or would not lock, and that no action had been taken despite reporting it to a landlord, says Dr Mottershead. Pre-school children are particularly susceptible to falls because of their lack of awareness of danger - and because their bodies are top heavy - says the Child Accident Prevention Trust says. Its advice to parents includes fitting window locks and ensuring furniture is away from windows. Buildings with "at risk" individuals like hospitals, schools and care homes are required to fit window restrictors, but such rules do not currently apply to rented accommodation. A government consultation on how to improve standards in both private and socially rented homes is currently taking place - and it is looking at how to ensure that all rented homes in England have child-resistant restrictors on any windows that present a fall risk. At the Leeds estate where Exodus died, and others, we saw windows wide open on flats The current proposals would make it possible for adults to override the restrictors to ensure fire safety, but lawyer Gareth Naylor says that's not enough. He wants restrictors installed that cannot be opened. "If you fall out of one of those tower block windows you are going to die," he says. "It's as simple as that. Deaths will keep occurring as long as you have these window restrictors in place that can be deactivated, because it's just too easy." We went to the estate in Leeds where Exodus died, and to several others where there have been child deaths, and saw that many windows were wide open. One father told us he has them open because it gets "so hot" living in a tower. Another mother of two small children living on the top floor of one block said she has to be "constantly" careful on hot days. The National Housing Federation told us it welcomed the review into requiring window restrictors on upper floors of blocks of flats. "Housing associations are dedicated to making sure all residents are safe in their homes," said its director of policy and research, Alistair Smyth, and they "recognise the crucial importance of secure windows in ensuring children's safety in particular". The government also plans to change current UK social housing regulations so a window has to be replaced if it has fallen into disrepair, irrespective of its age. Under current rules, windows in flats only have to be replaced, rather than repaired, if they have fallen into a state of disrepair and are over 30 years old. Councils need adequate and sustained funding to deliver the quality of housing that tenants rightly expect and deserve - according to the Local Government Association, which speaks for local councils. Any new requirements must be fully funded by government, a spokesperson added. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in England told us that "no child's life should be at risk because of poor quality housing, and we are determined to prevent future tragedies".
The Guardian
20-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Two Leeds hospitals' maternity services rated inadequate over safety risks
The care of women and babies at two Leeds hospitals presents a significant risk to their safety, the NHS regulator has said, after the preventable deaths of dozens of newborns. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) demanded urgent improvements to maternity services at Leeds general infirmary and St James's hospital as it downgraded them to 'inadequate'. A BBC investigation this year found that the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers may have been preventable at the two hospitals between January 2019 and July 2024. The hospitals, run by Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust, are the latest to be engulfed by a maternity scandal that has revealed catastrophic failings in Nottingham, Shrewsbury and Telford, Morecambe Bay, east Kent and others. The downgrading of maternity and neonatal services in Leeds follows unannounced inspections by the CQC in December and January. Ann Ford, a director of operations at the CQC, said it had received concerns from staff, patients and families about safety and staffing levels at the two hospitals. She said: 'During the inspection the concerns were substantiated, and this posed a significant risk to the safety of women, people using these services, and their babies as the staff shortages impacted on the timeliness of the care and support they received.' Inspectors found dirty areas on the maternity wards of both hospitals, unsafe storage of medicines, a 'blame culture' that left staff unwilling to raise concerns, and short-staffed units. On the neonatal wards, which care for the most vulnerable newborns, the CQC found they were understaffed and infants needing special care were being transported unsafely from one hospital to another. A freedom of information request by the BBC revealed in January that the NHS trust had identified at least 56 baby deaths that may have been preventable from January 2019 to July 2024, made up of 27 stillbirths and 29 neonatal deaths, which are deaths within 28 days after birth. In each case, a trust review group had identified care issues it considered may have made a difference to the outcome for babies. Sir Julian Hartley, the head of the CQC, was the chief executive of Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust for 10 years until January 2023, meaning he was in charge when many of the preventable deaths took place. The parents of a newborn girl who died after multiple failings at Leeds general infirmary in January 2020 questioned the CQC's ability to carry out an independent inspection, given Hartley's previous role. The regulator said it has 'robust policies in place to manage any conflict of interest'. Prof Phil Wood, the chief executive of Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust, said: 'These reports have highlighted significant areas where we need to improve our maternity and neonatal services, and my priority is to make sure we urgently take action to deliver these improvements.' He said the trust was improving whistleblowing procedures for staff and had recruited 55 midwives, leaving it 11 short of the national target. Wood added: 'I want to reassure every family due to have their baby with us in Leeds and any new parents that we are absolutely committed to providing safe, compassionate care.'
Free Malaysia Today
05-06-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Enact child safety laws for high-rise residential buildings, says Suhakam
Suhakam children's commissioner Farah Nini Dusuki called for regular inspections of high-rise residential units to ensure compliance with child safety standards and features. PETALING JAYA : The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has called for the enactment of specific laws to enhance child safety legislation in high-rise residential buildings, following the recent deaths of a seven-year-old and two-year-old in separate accidents. 'These back-to-back tragedies are not isolated accidents. 'They are preventable deaths that starkly expose the failure to implement essential safety measures in high-rise residential buildings,' Suhakam children's commissioner Farah Nini Dusuki said in a statement today. She said the child safety laws to be enacted by the housing and local government ministry should include mandatory safety grilles or protective mesh on windows and balconies for apartment and flat units. 'Additionally, minimum safety design standards for child-friendly high-rise units must be established under existing building laws or regulations. 'The ministry and local authorities must also review current building design guidelines to ensure that child safety considerations are mandatory in all high-rise residential developments,' she said. The seven-year-old girl who died on May 20 fell from a babysitter's home on the 29th floor of a condominium in Puchong, Subang Jaya. Subang Jaya deputy police chief Fairus Jaafar said preliminary findings indicated that the victim climbed out of the window, which had no safety grilles installed. On May 17, meanwhile, a two-year-old boy fell from the seventh floor of a public housing building in Presint 9, Putrajaya. Farah Nini called for local authorities to conduct regular inspections of high-rise residential units, especially rental properties, to ensure compliance with child safety standards and features. 'The absence of basic safety features in high-rise homes directly contributed to the loss of these young lives. This is unacceptable in any society that claims to uphold children's rights,' she said.
Washington Post
19-05-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Here's where Bill Gates can donate part of his fortune: Moms
Mona Hanna, the founder and director of Rx Kids, is a pediatrician and associate dean of public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in Flint, Michigan. Miriam Laker-Oketta, senior research adviser to GiveDirectly, is a medical doctor and researcher. Bill Gates recently pledged to give away nearly all his $200 billion in wealth by 2045, aspiring to have no mom, child or baby die from a preventable cause. As two physicians — one in Michigan, one in Uganda — we know accomplishing such a bold goal will require a powerful but overlooked tool: giving mothers cash.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- The Independent
Rights groups say migrant workers are dying on Saudi job sites as kingdom prepares for World Cup
Scores of laborers from countries including India, Bangladesh and Nepal have faced preventable deaths from electrocution, road accidents, falling from heights, and more while working in Saudi Arabia, according to a report Wednesday by the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch and another rights group, FairSquare, released separate investigations Wednesday detailing preventable deaths of migrant workers from job-site accidents and work-related illnesses. The reports accuse Saudi authorities of often misreporting such deaths and failing to investigate, preventing families from receiving compensation from the kingdom that they are entitled to and knowing how their loved ones died. As Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure and development initiatives — including the 2034 men's soccer World Cup and the futuristic city Neom — rights groups warn of thousands more avoidable deaths in the coming years. In one case, Human Rights Watch said a Bangladeshi worker was electrocuted on the job. But his employer allegedly withheld the body, telling the family they would be compensated only if they agreed to a local burial. Another family reported waiting nearly 15 years before they were compensated by the Saudi government. 'It's very urgent that the Saudi authorities and FIFA put in place basic labor rights protections,' Minky Worden, Human Rights Watch's director of global initiatives, told The Associated Press, referring to soccer's world governing body. Authorities in Saudi Arabia did not respond to a request for comment. FairSquare, which looked into the deaths of 17 Nepali contractors in Saudi Arabia over the last 18 months, warned in its report that without accountability, 'thousands of unexplained deaths' of low-paid foreign workers are likely to follow. 'In some cases, you have families being pursued by money lenders for the loans that their (dead) husband or father took out in order to migrate to the Gulf,' said James Lynch, who co-directs FairSquare. Saudi Arabia has long faced allegations of labor abuses and wage theft tied to its Vision 2030 project, a big-money effort to diversify its economy beyond dependence on oil. FIFA shared with the AP a letter it sent Human Rights Watch last month defending the selection of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 World Cup. The letter cited the Saudis' commitments to establishing 'a workers' welfare system' and enhancing 'country-wide labor protections including through a strengthened collaboration' with the United Nations' International Labor Organization. The kingdom is not the only Gulf Arab state to be accused of abusing migrant laborers in the run-up to a World Cup. Rights groups also criticized Qatar, which hosted the competition in 2022, saying they tallied thousands of unexplained worker deaths. But this time has the potential to be even worse for foreign workers, Worden said, noting that the 2034 World Cup has plans to require more stadiums and infrastructure with more teams competing. Qatar established an oversight board called the Supreme Committee, which monitored FIFA construction sites and took reports of unsafe work conditions. 'There's no such committee like that in Saudi Arabia,' Worden said, adding, 'In the end, Qatar did have concrete policies like life insurance and heat protection. Those aren't in place now' in Saudi Arabia. The details of the investigations from Human Rights Watch and FairSquare come a day after FIFA President Gianni Infantino joined U.S. President Donald Trump on his official visit to Saudi Arabia, where Trump met with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
