At an event held on 20 March at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, representatives from some of the UK’s largest healthcare estates – among a larger cross section of delegates – were asked the question: ‘Legionella compliance – are you doing it wrong?’
The discussion that followed aimed to make delegates aware of the legal, moral, and financial implications of ‘getting it wrong’, and, conversely, the benefits of ‘getting it right’. John Sandford, Health and Safety director of water safety consultancy, SMS Environmental, which organised the event, outlines some of the key concerns around this topic, with a particular focus on the competence and accreditation of risk assessors.
Supported by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), the seminar focused on raising awareness of an accreditation that is the most effective way personnel responsible for water system safety can ensure competence within a key area of Legionella control. One of its goals is to ensure that such staff make good decisions in awarding contracts to outside service providers/specialists. During the event, Jon Murthy, communications manager at UKAS, expanded on the importance of accreditation in providing competence and aiding decision-making.
The event also covered other aspects of Legionella compliance and competence, and highlighted an actual case in law that we, as the organisers, were directly involved in. The case covered the HSE investigation that preceded it, weaving in explanations of the pertinent changes to the ACoP L8 4th Edition, along with water regulation, the HSE Fee for Intervention cost recovery scheme, and an academic study at Cranfield University into the presence of microbes in hot and cold water systems.
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