Legislation Update February 2013 - Changes to the ACOP (L8)

In the wake of the Legionella outbreaks earlier this year, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released important information for users and suppliers of water treatment systems.

From 1 February 2013 it will be illegal to sell or use water treatment systems that use elemental copper in order to add copper ions to water as a biocide. It will also be illegal to supply the copper needed for their use. Action has been taken at an EU level under the Biocidal Products Directive, because no manufacturer supported the use of elemental copper for use as biocides in these systems during a review period that ended in September 2011.

Along with this information, HSE have also produced a simple FAQ document which aims to answer any questions installers have about Legionella, the control of Legionella and monitoring systems.

APHC PR and marketing manager Charlotte Murray said: “We would like to direct all installers who use water treatment systems to this new information from the HSE. We have received queries from concerned members about Legionella control and monitoring systems so this information is a welcome development.

Legionella Found at Guernsey's King Edward VII Hospital

The BBC's statement reads:

"The water system at Guernsey's King Edward VII Hospital is due to be flushed after "unusually high levels" of the legionella bacteria were found.

A Health and Social Services Department spokesman said nobody had been infected by the bacteria.

To combat its spread the showers have been shut off, water temperature increased and staff have been briefed. 

The water is due to be shut off for two hours on Tuesday so the pipes can be flushed before testing on Wednesday. 

The King Edward VII has 100 beds and provides rehabilitation, continuing care and day-hospital services for patients with physical needs, mostly those aged more than 55. 

The bacteria was discovered during routine testing. 

Earlier this year the water systems at the island's Princess Elizabeth Hospital were also found to include high levels of legionella. 

It was only reduced to "acceptable levels" after the water system had been treated twice."

Basildon Hospital Prosecution For Careless Legionella Monitoring

(Repost)

A hospital in Essex will be taken to court after they were alleged to have failed to stop people being exposed to legionella bacteria.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is prosecuting Basildon Hospital under the Health and Safety at Work Act, with the single charge from the HSE relating to a case of legionella at the hospital between February 2004 and December 2010.

Official figures show there have been 13 cases of patients catching the legionella bacteria since 2002.

Chief Executive of Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Trust, Clare Panniker, said the hospital had spent £3m and introduced a number of changes in the past decade in an attempt to control legionella. She said:

"The trust has not had any cases of Legionnaire's Disease since 2011 and we will continue to work with the HSE and other experts to do all we can to combat Legionella. As new chief executive, I will be reviewing the leadership structure to ensure we have the right experience at board level."

She said that the report concluded that the current risk of contracting legionella at the hospital was about "one in a million".

The prosecution centres on an alleged breach of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 which refers to the duty of employers to protect non employees from "risks to their health or safety" and the first hearing in the case is expected to take place at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court at a later date.

Hinchingbrooke Invests £120k to reduce Legionella risk

It was reported that:

When Circle took over management of the hospital in February on a 10-year management franchise, the company’s head of facilities and estates, Mark Cammies, set up a new regime of inspection and testing for the legionella bacterium, which is often found in stored water and can cause pneumonia-like infection when ingested as droplets.

Circle stressed yesterday (Tuesday) that no one had been infected and that the £120,000 was precautionary investment to ensure that clean bill of health continued.

“The previous regime was not thorough enough, so we have put in a programme of much more rigorous testing,” a spokesman said. “As a result, we found a few isolated areas where there are higher than normal levels of the bacteria. The presence of the bacteria is not unusual in NHS hospitals,” she added.

Circle’s investment has already extended to installing filters in shower-heads in wards – a practice that is commonplace in hotels – and the programme includes spending £30,000 on a new chlorination system, £70,000 on the hospital pipework to eliminate areas where water can stand, and putting in a new flushing system in wards where showers are used infrequently.

Legionnaires’ disease is so-called because the bacterium was isolated as the cause of an outbreak of a ‘mystery illness’ at a convention of the American Legion in Philadelphia in 1976. it is believed to have been transmitted through a hotel air-conditioning system.

Stoke Legionella Outbreak - Two more Cases Confirmed

It brings the total number of people being treated at University Hospital of North Staffordshire to nine, all aged between their late 40s and mid 70s.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is looking into two cases that were identified earlier in the summer as it is believed they may be linked.

The HPA also said it had disinfected seven cooling towers in the area as a precaution.

The agency has been working with the Health and Safety Executive, the NHS in Stoke and the city council to try to identify and control any possible sources of the disease.

'Hospital is safe'

Prof Harsh Duggal, director of the Health Protection Unit in Staffordshire and Shropshire, said: "Early microbiology typing results back from the HPA laboratories show that samples taken from some of the patients look very similar so far and this is consistent with the cases having caught their infection from the same environmental source.

"We are taking detailed histories of the movements of the patients to see if there are similar patterns which would indicate a local source of infection.

"It is important to stress that the outbreak is not hospital related and the hospital is a safe environment for visitors

Healthcare staff in the areas where the patients live have been alerted to look out for symptoms.

Officials have said early signs include flu-like symptoms, with muscle aches, tiredness, headaches, dry cough and fever which can lead to pneumonia.

Diarrhoea and confusion may occur, as well as chest and breathing symptoms. The disease can be effectively treated with antibiotics.

Latest Legionella Outbreak! Stoke-on-Trent!

Recent updates have been issued, following a Legionella outbreak in Stoke-on-Trent, yet again, in a hospital. Is it just me, or should we be keeping those places the most checked? I mean, since they are choc-a-block with high risk peoples... perhaps it's just me.

The story broke last night, and details will be added when updates are issued on the people affected and the condition of the site itself, here are the details on the people affected:

Seven people are being treated for Legionnaires' disease; those affected are six men and a woman, aged between their late 40s and 75, health officials said.

Two men in their 70s are described as "stable" and the other patients are said to be "improving"

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said all seven patients were being treated at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

Prof Harsh Duggal, director of the Health Protection Unit in Stafford, said: "While we do not currently have a direct link between the cases, the evidence points to the fact that there is a common source.

"We are taking detailed histories of the movements of the patients to see if there are similar patterns which would indicate a local source of infection.

"Legionnaires' disease is a rare but potentially life-threatening illness. It is caused by a bacteria commonly associated with water systems and cannot be passed from person to person."

The HPA added it was also investigating two cases identified in early summer as being possibly linked to the current cluster.

The agency is working with the Health and Safety Executive, the NHS in Stoke and the city council to try to identify and control any possible sources of the disease.

The seven cases are not hospital acquired, health officials said.

Healthcare staff in the areas where the patients live have been alerted to look out for symptoms.

Officials said early signs include flu-like symptoms, with muscle aches, tiredness, headaches, dry cough and fever which can lead to pneumonia.

Diarrhoea and confusion may occur, as well as chest and breathing symptoms. The disease can be effectively treated with antibiotics.

There were 239 cases of the disease in England and Wales in 2011, including 23 in the West Midlands.