WATER SYSTEM HYGIENE & SAFETY
n Finally, hospital patients – who typically include older people, and those with compromised immune systems due to smoking, alcoholism, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, or those undergoing treatment with immunosuppressant drugs, are among the most vulnerable to these bacteria.
Other waterborne pathogens The latest iteration of HTM 04-01, published following revision and updating in 2016, gives guidance on all measures to control waterborne pathogens, including combating colonisation with P. aeruginosa bacteria. These potentially harmful microorganisms, and the related infections, are not a the key focus of this article, but it is interesting to note that the guidance devotes the same emphasis to water temperature control as a preventative method against such infections, and notes that Water Safety Groups (WSGs) should take ‘an holistic approach’ when developing their Water Safety Plans.
Temperature – a primary control Controlling the temperature of stored and circulating hot and cold water is therefore identified as a crucial preventative measure. Both the Department of Health and the Health & Safety Executive state that cold water should be stored at below 20˚C, and that hot water should be stored at 60˚C and circulated at 55˚C, reaching outlets within one minute.
While acknowledging the complexity involved in monitoring hot and cold water distribution systems, and urging WSGs to
TME’s KM08 Shower Probe.
take a joined-up approach to water management controls – including consideration of additional chemical and physical methods – the Department of Health & Social Care continues to emphasise temperature management as the primary control measure. HTM 04-01 guidance states that ‘a temperature control regime is the traditional strategy for reducing the risk from Legionella, and for reducing the growth and colonisation of other waterborne organisms within water systems’. To prevent growth of P. aeruginosa ‘and other waterborne pathogens’, the guidance says that ‘controls are necessary to manage the water system before and after the outlet. As with all control measures, temperatures should be monitored at regular intervals to verify effective control’.
More efficient temperature monitoring
TC Wall Ports have been installed on a number of wards at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, to help monitor subordinate loops situated behind panels.
In addition to its TC Wall Port System, during the past five years TME has pioneered a number of new solutions for streamlining Legionella temperature recording to achieve more efficient results. Given both the growing number and frequency of tests now legally required in hospitals and healthcare establishments, this development of new solutions has been a number one priority at TME, resulting in an interconnected range of thermometers, sensors, and temperature accessories, which all work together to achieve a flexible offering, easily tailored to specific settings. Hospitals like the Princess Elizabeth, and many UK NHS Trusts, use our MM2008 Legionella Thermometer, which features an in-built timer with 1 and 2- minute countdown delay buttons. When using this thermometer to check running water temperatures, users have the option to delay the temperature result until the necessary time period has elapsed, as recommended by the Health & Safety Executive for hot and cold water. The MM2008 is now our standard Legionella thermometer, developed as a direct result of feedback from delegates visiting our Healthcare Estates exhibition stand. Engineers were looking for ways to speed up and simplify the task, and have found this much easier than having to juggle a thermometer, probe, and
separate timer simultaneously just to take one measurement.”
Waterproof surface/ immersion probe
Other time-saving equipment from TME’s Legionella Range includes the company’s KS20-S Dual Purpose Surface/Immersion probe, again developed in response to demands from water engineers, who appreciate the time saved using one fully waterproof probe for both running water tests and pipe surfaces, rather than having to plug and unplug two different probes into their thermometer. Pragmatic simplicity is a continuing emphasis for TME product development, and nowhere is this more clearly demonstrated than in our approach to the day-to-day practical difficulties faced by engineers tasked with actually performing ACoP L8 tests. Two cases in point are the measurement of standing water in high- level water storage tanks and also showers – two high- risk scenarios when it comes to Legionella risk due to tepid water and aerosol effect respectively.
High-level water storage tanks High-level water storage tanks are still a common feature in older hospital buildings. The KM07 Immersion Probe is purpose made for measuring temperature in a depth of water because it has been weighted and hermetically sealed, which allows the probe to be suspended within a water storage tank. Combining it with a length of fine wire, and with it being run down to a TC Wall Port, eradicates the need for ladders and all the accompanying Safety at Work Legislation measures, including two-person working, for example. Suddenly measuring such high- level vessels becomes a much more straightforward task. Furthermore, a simple, low-cost sensor of this kind can play a crucial role in monitoring water quality compliance overall, as water tanks like these are very often at a considerable distance from main sentinel points, which are more routinely monitored. A slightly more ‘niche product’, but one close to the heart of engineers fed up with getting a soaking every time they take a shower temperature, is the company’s KM08 Shower Probe, an extended probe with a built-in water collection cup we believe offers a much more efficient and professional way of completing what can
October 2019 Health Estate Journal 49
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160
