Legionella


Legionella control: the caring approach


Legionella monitoring is a critical aspect of safety and maintenance, with many residents falling into the classification of those most vulnerable to these potentially lethal bacteria. However, it is equally essential not to disrupt the lives of vulnerable residents. David Randlesome, Swiftclean’s national sales manager, Legionella services, explains what you need to do to comply with your legal duties


Residential care providers have a legal duty to maintain a clean, safe water system and to prevent an outbreak of Legionella. Legionella pneumophila and related types of bacteria cause the flu-like illness known as Legionnaires’ disease, which may prove fatal to the elderly, to the immunosuppressed, to smokers, and to those with chronic health problems. Your duties under Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) L8 Legionnaires’ disease: the control of Legionella bacteria in water systems include having an up-to-date risk assessment and conducting regular testing to ensure there is no Legionella bacteria in the water system. You must have a named Responsible Person. If there is a change of personnel, and a new Responsible Person, this must, by law, be amended in the risk assessment. If you do not have an up-to-date risk assessment, you will already be in breach of the regulations, so you must complete and document a risk assessment as a matter of urgency. This is something that you can do yourself, but if your premises have never had a clear risk assessment, or this is new territory for you, it would be sensible to call in the help of an expert. It is perfectly possible, with careful planning, for an expert service provider to carry out a survey and testing, even remedial work, without greatly disturbing your residents, or compromising their safety. Once they have conducted a survey, they will also be able to provide a robust risk assessment for you, which you can use as evidence of your compliance with your legal duties.


Evidence of compliance is just as important as compliance itself. Should the worst happen, and an outbreak of Legionella occur, it will be extremely


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important for the Responsible Person and the organisation running the care home to be able to demonstrate that they did all that could be reasonably expected in order to ensure compliance with ACOP L8. If you have complied, but have no robust records of your compliance, you could still be accused of negligence. This is another reason for using a specialist Legionella services provider, as they will supply you with robust documentation of all their work on your behalf. For this reason, you should choose a member of the Legionella Control Association (LCA) as your service provider. The LCA examines members annually to ensure that their services and reporting processes comply with ACOP L8, so this is a further safeguard for you. Your initial contact with your service


If you do not have an up- to-date risk assessment, you will already be in breach of the regulations


provider will probably be over the phone, and you should be given a step-by-step explanation of the process of surveying, testing, and completing any remedial work. Your first in-person contact will be with the surveyor, who will examine the water system, highlighting any issues. These may include historic alterations to the water system, which are common in care homes whose properties had a different former use, or which have been extended, or where the purpose of any individual room has been changed. It is essential that water is able to circulate freely throughout the system, so it may be necessary to remove a water outlet that is no longer used, or to remove ‘dead legs’ in the pipework, where water can ‘sit’ without moving. These must be resolved in order to update your risk assessment and ensure compliance. Your service provider should ensure


that all technicians have an enhanced DBS check to safeguard your residents and are fully competent in their work. They will also ensure that their team works closely with your team, to ensure that the life of the care home is disrupted as little as possible.


www.thecarehomeenvironment.com April 2024


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