Basildon Blunder | Legionella strikes again

The awful and unnecessary disease legionella has one again made headway in the news. Basildon Hospital were recently prosecuted again by the HSE. They were prosecuted for breach under Section 3 of the Health & Safety at Work Act over failing to protect visitors and patients adequately from legionella.

Two people have unfortunately paid the price for the negligence to the water systems between 2007 and 2010. 

Alongside huge court costs of £100,000, the hospital spend 3 million (£) in measures to finally combat the bacteria.

To read more news items or to set up a plan to combat legionella, please contact Spectrum Environmental Solutions Limited 

The full story on Basildon Hospital can be read on the BBC website

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.

HSE Issues Safety Notice for Legionellosis

THE British Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned businesses that they “must do more” to protect workers and the public from Legionnaires’ disease.

The safety bulletin follows in the wake of a fresh outbreak in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, which yesterday claimed its first victim. A further 15 people have contracted the disease so far. It is the second outbreak to hit the UK within a matter of months, with one Edinburgh man dying after being infected in early June.

Some of the major sources of Legionnaires’ are industrial cooling towers and evaporative condensers. The warm water in the systems can provide a breeding ground for the Legionella bacteria, inhalation of which can cause a high fever and pneumonia with potentially fatal consequences.

HES Legionella expert Paul McDermott says that businesses have “a responsibility to manage the risks they create to protect workers and the wider public.”

“This is a reminder to them of what the law expects,” he adds. “Failure to comply with the law means they may face legal sanctions, including in the most serious cases prosecution through the courts.”

In its bulletin, the HSE says that some of the biggest risks of a Legionnaires’ outbreak can come from changes in maintenance schedules, intermittent use of a plant and unusual weather conditions – the bacteria multiply faster when it is warm.

Read More @: http://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/coolingtowers.htm

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.

80 Cases of Legionella in an Outbreak in Scotland - and Rising!

New news from Scottish health officials telling of a legionella outbreak in the south-west of Edinburgh has seen an increase in the total number of confirmed cases -


Of those cases of the disease being treated in hospital, 15 are in intensive care and 27 are in general wards. A total of 16 cases are being treated in the community, 16 have been discharged from hospital. So far one man has died, named locally as 56-year-old Robert Air, from Seafield in Edinburgh.

The Health and Safety Executive and Edinburgh City Council are continuing their investigations into the possible source of the outbreak.

Click here for a look at the Independent article

Click here for a Legionella Control Company

Guernsey Hospital System Failure of Legionella

The BBC reported an article on the high levels of bacteria and legionella found at Guernsey's Princess Elizabeth Hospital.


... "Legionella bacteria have been eradicated from the water system at Guernsey's Princess Elizabeth Hospital, according to the health department.


Ed Freestone, from the department, said: "We have basically cleared it out of the system and that is a really good result. We have cracked the problem."


Heat treatment was used after chemicals failed to solve the problem.
Unacceptably high levels of bacteria were found in January following the implementation of new, routine checks
"We've found taps we never knew we had," he said.
The source of the bacteria has not been identified.


However, Mr Freestone pointed to the number of phases of development at the hospital over 80 years, leading to water lying stagnant in some lengths of redundant pipe-work.


Mr Freestone said all the plumbing in the hospital would now be "flushed at regular intervals"."

Need a legionella risk assessment? visit www.spectrum-env.co.uk  

The Changes to ACOP (L8) BS 8580:2010

Okay; There have been some changes to the way things work around here, and it seems no ones really noticed...

What We All Know about the ACoP (L8) and the Control of Legionella Bacteria...

Most of us are aware, in layman's terms, that bacteria beasties can accumulate in water that isn't 'looked-after'. We also know, as duty holders, we have to abide by some rules, namely the ACoP (L8). We know we need an annual monitoring plan, and a legionella risk assessment, at least once every 2 years as a matter of routine to keep these beasties at bay.

This is No Longer the Case!
Not many people realise, some changes were made to the overall approved code of practice, late in 2010. Some added literature, which is available at a rather large sum of money, can tell you the nitty-gritty. All I know is, there's one thing that my customers really need to know, and I'll tell you for free.

Legionella Risk Assessments are now considered 'live' documentation. These changes also specify that the document must be updated in anticipation of changes to the system, and then reviewed after too.
I think it's safe to say, not coordinating the risk factor with your system designer (if indeed, they are separate), is a huge mistake, since modifications to pipework systems is a main contributor in creating 'deadlegs' (a piece of unused or capped pipework, where the legionella can grow quickly in stagnant water).

Luckily, this new course of practice makes way for a lower and more controlled risk. This also means that your supplier of water treatment services could be updating your building's risk assessment as frequently as monthly if needed!

This doesn't mean that you'll never need a full risk assessment again, since the amount of added documentation could crowd and confuse the risk assessment document itself.
It does mean, that any authority or duty holder looking for a water treatment contractor, or has a current contractor working for them, should make sure these new features of the ACoP(L8) are followed.

For a water treatment contractor that does, visit www.spectrum-env.co.uk - stay tuned, more updates of the ACoP (L8) coming soon ...

(For more info see our blog post: How often do I need an ACoP (L8) Risk Assessment?)

Legionaires Outbreaks Spain and Hong Kong

There have been, reported today, two legionella outbreaks resulting in illness and, sadly, death.

The BBC News published an article this morning, reporting the bacteria has been found in a Government Complex in Hong Kong; The threat was found only when a minister was taken ill last month, and hospitalised with the potentially fatal disease.

"Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection has been collecting water samples from various sites in the new Central Government Offices after Education Secretary Michael Suen was diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease last month.

Samples collected from various toilets - including those at the office of Chief Executive Donald Tsang - tested positive for Legionella pneumophila, said a government statement.

Other troublespots include water taps inside the kitchens of a canteen and the Dining Hall in the Legislative Council Complex."

 Hopefully, the minister will recover, but no further report on his condition has been made. Unforgettably, the same cannot be said for British tourists aged 73, 76 and 78 died after contracting disease in Spain. a further 11 people were taken ill in Spain, who were also saying at the resort promoted by Saga Holidays. This was reported with the mailonline:

"The AR Diamante Beach Hotel in Calpe which is at the centre of the outbreak has been temporarily closed.

A regional health authority spokesman said: 'The results of our investigation into the cases of Legionnaires' Disease in Calpe show it's an outbreak which has so far affected 14 people, ten British tourists and four Spaniards.

'Recently we've learned tests on three British people aged between 73 and 78 suffering pneumonia who died in hospital showed they had contracted Legionnaires' Disease. 

'The deaths occurred on January 26 and 31 and February 2.'

The pensioners aged 73 and 78 who passed away after getting Legionnaires' died from unrelated conditions. Only the death of the 76-year-old has been attributed to the disease. 

Relatives of the three victims are thought to have flown to Spain to be by their bedsides before they died."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2095709/Three-British-pensioners-die-Legionnaires-Disease-outbreak-Spanish-beach-hotel.html#ixzz1lJ9voKhv"

These reports should serve as a reminder to all, especially in hotel establishments, that assessing buildings for legionella is an important step in health and safety.  

Our Hearts Go Out - Baby's Death caused by Pseudomonas in Belfast Hospital

This is why we deem our work of the utmost importance. Water treatment, and monitoring, is one of the least talked about legislation's on the map, but is, for all to see, so very important to keep on top of.


These poor children, unfortunately, have to pay devastating consequences of a poor monitoring system, obviously being performed by a completely incompetent company, who should take their work much more seriously. Either that, or the authority just couldn't be bothered to sign off a few purchase orders to keep on top of their water hygiene. 
Either way, This is an incident that should never have happened; we would like to send our deepest condolences to the families of these young children - our hearts go out to you completely, and honestly.


The  Belfast telegraph reported this:

"The latest results show that none of the 24 babies who were patients at the Belfast’s Royal Jubilee Maternity’s neo-natal unit at the time news of the outbreak broke last week have shown signs of an active infection of Pseudomonas. However five babies are being closely monitored because tests showed they have the bacteria on their skin"

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/baby-deaths-regulator-has-never-inspected-neonatal-unit-at-belfast-hospital-16107523.html#ixzz1kIVHPj1k

We sincerely hope that these children get the best care and treatment and we wish them a swift recovery.


Article written on behalf of the staff at Spectrum Environmental Solutions Limited - Please contact us for a monitoring regime that wont fail - UK - 0870 729 0199.