Controlling the safety and hygiene of water systems in healthcare settings is an essential element of the overall safety of end-users. As such, preventing scalding and reducing the risk of Legionella are both high priorities for healthcare estates managers and Water Safety Groups (WSGs) to ensure the safety of patients once they are admitted to a healthcare facility.
Developing an understanding of L. pneumophila
For healthcare estates managers and healthcare engineers, HTM 04-01: Safe Water in Healthcare Premises1 is a fundamental piece of guidance that must be adhered to when working with the wider Operations teams – for example so that the latter can adapt dormant spaces to be safe to accommodate vulnerable patients.
It is known that Legionnaire’s disease is responsible for approximately 2-9% of pneumonia cases, and that the disease is spread via the breathing in of aerosolised water contaminated with Legionella bacteria,