IHEEM AE CONFERENCE 2019 Tangible results
IHEEM’s new CEO, Pete Sellars, welcomed delegates to IHEEM’s 2019 AE Conference.
support provided by the AE (W) was often proportional to the extent of the water safety difficulties faced by the client organisation, and the competency of the related staff. He added: “On the flip side – from an AE’s standpoint – it is often difficult to persuade an incompetent member of staff of the significant level of support they might need.”
Representation from the AE He continued: “The HTM states – in paragraph 6.6 – that the Water Safety Group ‘would normally include representation from an Authorising Engineer or the appropriate clinical advisor, among others’. My own strong view is that, working inside the Water Safety Group, the AE (W) will have an input on policy and procedures, ensuring that these follow relevant guidance, and, where applicable, statutory requirements, and that they will also monitor whether the WSG functions as it should – in accordance with its Terms of Reference. The AE will also – as per the guidance – deliver and explain the findings of their annual audit.”
‘More often than not’, the speaker believed, the AE would provide a sounding board for the Water Safety Group, offering an impartial perspective, and in some cases an element of benchmarking. He added: “In cash-strapped public services – and hospitals and other healthcare facilities are no exception – the question is often asked: ‘What do our contemporaries do?’, or ‘How do we compare with other organisations?’ An Authorising Engineer may be able to recount examples of good practice, as well as the cautionary tales we are better known for.” Other key AE- provided services would typically include incident investigations, training, reviews of plans and other procedures, and attendance at enforcement meetings if needed.
34 Health Estate Journal May 2019
The speaker told delegates: “While every AE will have a collection of worrying photographs, and some horror stories to tell, it can be a great feeling when there are tangible positive results in terms of improvements in the safety of water systems. At the Water Hygiene Centre,” he continued, “we can draw on the knowledge and expertise of five AEs, with a varied background, and over 80 years’ combined experience. All of us are currently providing AE services as part of a current appointment within a range of NHS Trusts and other organisations. This leads me to towards the theme of my presentation – whether the AE should be considered a ‘friend’ or ‘foe’.” Looking at the Oxford English Dictionary definition of a ‘friend’, Philip Lonsdale said the most apposite one in relation to the AE would be the last one shown on his slide – since the goal of providing ‘a safe water service’ was shared by both the AE and the client organisation, and ‘we are thus both on the same side’. He added: “The support provided by the Authorising Engineer will come in the form of both ‘quick fixes’ and long-term support.” In the next few slides, he explained that he would describe some examples of an Authorising Engineer acting as a ‘friend’, with all the examples based on he and his colleagues’ own ‘real life’ experiences.
A long-standing customer The first alluded to a large NHS organisation with a range of sites, providing services ranging from acute healthcare, to specialist services. Philip Lonsdale said: “The Trust is a long- standing client we have worked with for about 10 years, and the AE meets with it quarterly, and ‘catches up’ every six weeks.” Over the course of this ‘relationship’, he explained, there had been continuous improvement in the client organisation’s water safety, through initiatives such as ‘an evolving sampling strategy’ that had adapted to the organisation’s needs – with input from the Trust’s Infection Prevention and Control team and a microbiologist – as building use and patients groups had changed. A risk assessment review process had seen the validity of the existing risk assessments reviewed at regular intervals, ‘eliminating the need for a big review of all risk assessments every two years’. Philip Lonsdale said: “This not only reflects changes in recent guidance with respect to water risk assessments, but also helps organisations spread and balance budgets from year to year.”
Improvement Notice received His next slide described an instance where a (different) client organisation had received an Improvement Notice from the Health & Safety Executive, ‘as a result of poor management of Legionella’. Within
IHEEM President, Ian Hinitt, spoke on topics including ‘IHEEM’s future role in hosting AE Registers’, and ‘Developing an accessible and sustainable career path for future generations of Authorising Engineer’.
three months of the deadline, the client commissioned the Water Hygiene Centre to provide assistance. Philip Lonsdale elaborated: “In practice the solutions to this particular problem were standard fare for an Authorising Engineer in Water Services; we undertook an audit to identify gaps in the management system, assessed organisational training needs, developed a training plan, and implemented a system for the management of documentation and records. We also commissioned independent water safety risk assessments, and drafted a Water Safety Plan. On the return visit, the HSE inspector was satisfied with the progress made, and lifted the Notice.”
The third example of the AE acting in their capacity as a ‘friend’ to an NHS organisation Philip Lonsdale described related to a colleague’s experiences, but could, he said, have applied ‘to almost any healthcare organisation.” He expanded: “The organisation in question has safe water policies and procedures in place; its risk assessments are up to date, and a Scheme of Control has been implemented across all its sites. However, one site in particular repeatedly tests positive for Legionella bacteria, despite the usual remedial actions and best intentions.”
Always ‘a root cause’ ‘The thing about Legionella problems’, the speaker emphasised, was that ‘there is always a root cause’. “If you don’t know what it is,” he told delegates, “it simply means that you haven’t found it yet. As the AE, we want to support our client in finding the root cause, and taking appropriate action.” This ‘support’, he explained, would – as in the case described – typically include a site visit, and an inspection of the
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