Rosamund Addo-Kissi-Debrah CBE, a prominent air-pollution campaigner and patient advocate, has been fighting for justice since the tragic asthma attack that claimed the life of her 9-year-old daughter, Ella Roberta. She visited Tooting Campus to share her story at the Advanced Clinical Practice Professional Skills Day in a a special event with Professor Deborah Harding, Professor of Learning and Innovation for Practice. Deborah opened the conversation by stating, “As healthcare professionals, we need to learn for and from the public; otherwise, we are not doing our jobs properly.”
The conversation touched on the role of privilege, exploring how healthcare professionals can leverage it and the importance of challenging entrenched assumptions to rethink how we value expertise. Rosamund highlighted the incredible resilience of parents caring for their children, even amidst uncertainty. She shared her journey of becoming an expert in care through personal experiences, often being sought after for advice on patient treatment.
Rosamund knew that there was an issue with air pollution that was affecting her daughter. After a doctor advised Rosamund to consider the air pollution levels on the night Ella died, she was determined to uncover the truth. She brought a claim against the UK government, arguing that they had breached her daughter’s human rights by failing to reduce air pollution levels. This led to a landmark inquest in 2020, where the coroner concluded that air pollution made a “material contribution” to Ella’s death.
Rosamund’s activism led to the establishment of the Ella Roberta Foundation. She continues to advocate for better air quality and encourages everyone to get involved in improving air quality for all. For inclusive education, this event highlights the importance of real life stories in the curriculum to help bring about changes in practice and legislation.
https://www.ellaroberta.org/get-involved
BBC News. (2020). Ella Kissi-Debrah: Air pollution a factor in girl’s death, inquest finds. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55330945 [Accessed 16 Dec. 2024].
Evening Standard. (2022). Mother wins government settlement over pollution death. [online] Available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/mother-government-settlement-court-claim-pollution-death-breached-daughters-human-rights-b1191222.html [Accessed 16 Dec. 2024].