Legionella
of equipment while at your premises. This helps to ensure the safety of your residents, staff, and visitors, as well as the team itself. The RAMS should be sent to each care home manager in advance so you can see exactly how the service provider has been briefed. The service provider should let you know what to expect and should reassure you that work will be carried out safely and with the least disruption to your routines. If there is anything that you do not understand, or that you think might present a problem, talk to the service provider so that they can make any adjustments to the RAMS that might be necessary.
Your initial site visit The surveyor should complete a thorough site-specific risk assessment and discuss with the care home manager or Responsible Person whether there are any issues within the water system that they need to be aware of.
The surveyor will need to inspect every part of the water system, so they should be given access cards or keys to the boiler room, or to be accompanied by a member of your team who can give them access. Once in the boiler room, the surveyor should check the hot water cylinder to ensure that water is being stored at a sufficiently high temperature to discourage the proliferation of Legionella bacteria. They should also check that there are no visible non-conformances with the installation. The surveyor should check every part of the system from the boiler to the furthest reaches of the pipework and water delivery at taps, toilets, and shower outlets. They should check the temperature of both hot and cold water feeds at key points around the entire building, including those points nearest and furthest from the boiler. These nearest and furthest locations are known as the sentinel points. It is important to check the water furthest away from the boiler to ensure that it has not lost sufficient heat to drop its temperature below safe levels. The surveyor should take a representative number of temperature readings around the property, depending on its size, to get a clear picture of the overall temperature of the system and to ensure that it is within the prescribed temperature range to conform to ACOP L8.
It is possible that this may require accessing residents’ rooms, but the surveyor should only do this if accompanied by a member of your staff who can reassure your resident. A resident should be able to refuse
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access to the surveyor if they will find their presence too upsetting.
Robust reporting Some remedial works which can be immediately identified are very simple to remedy, so a surveyor could carry out shower head cleans and check or reset thermostatic mixing valves (TMVs) as these issues can be resolved during the site visit. Once all the tasks are completed, the
surveyor should tidy away any mess or equipment, lock any doors, and return the keys to the care home manager. Swiftclean uses a cloud-based reporting system, into which all data – along with the surveyor’s observations – are entered in real time through the surveyor’s smart phone at each step of the survey. The use of this system allows the results of the survey to be available immediately. Whatever the system being used, the surveyor should be able to tell you at the end of the visit what they have found. At this stage, they will be able to make you aware of any non- conformances which must be remedied in order to achieve compliance with ACOP L8. They will also make recommendations in terms of remedial work or ongoing compliance measures. The surveyor will ask you as care home manager or Responsible Person to sign a document showing that you understand and accept the findings and recommendations. If remedial works are required, such as plumbing work, or tank refurbishment and renewal, the service delivery coordinator should be able to schedule the work at a date and time are convenient for you. This remedial work should be carried out as soon as possible, as you will not be compliant with ACOP L8 until it is completed. There are severe penalties for those
who neglect their legal duties in Legionella prevention, especially where an outbreak occurs causing illness or death. The Responsible Person and/or Duty Holder can be prosecuted and if found guilty, may be given a custodial sentence. The organisation itself may also be prosecuted and limitless fines can be imposed by the courts if negligence is proved. In every aspect of Legionella prevention and control, is definitely better to be safe than sorry.
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David Randlesome
David has over 15 years of experience in the water hygiene industry, starting as a field service technician carrying out water quality analysis of cooling towers, steam boilers, and domestic hot and cold water systems. He has extensive knowledge of the HSE ACOP L8/HSG274 and holds a HABC Level 3 Legionella control for Responsible Persons qualification. David is a qualified manager with a CMI Level 5 diploma in Management and Leadership. Before embarking on a career in water hygiene, David was a football coach for West Ham United Football Club.
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com April 2024
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