Legionella control in a care home is a vital undertaking. After all, the residents of a care facility are often some of the most vulnerable members of society, and are therefore more susceptible than most to risks like infection.

However, care home managers are often cautious about maintenance work on their premises for fear that it’ll affect the comfort and wellbeing of their residents. This is a valid concern, so we’ve shared our advice on how you can minimise the impact below.

The risk assessment

A thorough legionella risk assessment is the first step in any legionella control plan. This is where a skilled and experienced person – typically from a third-party water treatment company – identifies the risks of legionella bacterial growth in the water system and draws up a plan of remedial action and ongoing maintenance.

In order to minimise disruption, we recommend you do a little preliminary work before your engineer arrives. Firstly, gain a basic understanding of the layout of your water system and where key components are located. This way, you’ll know if access may be required through a bedroom or other living area, and can vacate it as appropriate prior to the risk assessment.

Secondly, if your water treatment company is new to your care home, we recommend you gather records of all previous legionella control work undertaken on your premises. This’ll help your engineer get up to speed quickly.

As for the risk assessment itself, it should be possible to carry this out – depending on the expertise of the person undertaking the work – with minimum disruption to the residents’ day-to-day lives. Your engineer will simply need the time and space to deliver the following:

• A documented water system overview, including pipework schematics and photographic evidence
• Testing of hot and cold water throughout the building at key points
• Water tank surveys
• Flow and stagnation tests
• Inspection for aerosol formation hazards
• Supply of digital thermometers, records and basic training to your staff

Legionella control and remedial measures

The results of your assessment will obviously impact on the remedial measures required to ensure compliance and the work that needs doing on your premises.

Following the test, the responsible person should prepare a legionella control scheme for preventing risk of bacterial growth – both immediately and in the future. These remedial measures might include:

• Water chlorination (which removes potentially lethal pathogens from tanks and pipework through disinfection).
• Removal or flushing of dead legs, which are sections of infrequently used pipework that pose a risk of stagnation.
• Thermostatic mixing valve (TMV) servicing, and potentially moving TMVs if they have been installed too far from the outlets or used to feed multiple services.

These actions will all have varying degrees of impact on residents, from temporary loss of water supply to on-site plumbing works.

(Please note, it is important than any remedial measures are not undertaken on a one-off basis. An ongoing scheme of monitoring and controlling legionella bacteria is essential for ensuring future compliance.)

Outsourcing for a smoother, safer process

It’s possible to undertaken legionella control work – including both a risk assessment and remedial actions –internally, and not solicit the services of a third-party water treatment company. Indeed, the HSE guidelines state that:

“Testing of water may be carried out by a service provider, such as a water treatment company or consultant, or by the operator, provided they are trained to do so and are properly supervised.”

However, water hygiene and safety is only one of many responsibilities that care home managers have on their plate. Plus they often lack the specialist experience, time, and resources to not only undertake the work, but do it in manner than ensures compliance with regulations and avoids any serious legal and financial consequences. This is why it’s often safer to outsource all legionella control work to a professional company.

An appropriately trained and experienced water treatment company can ensure it is a smooth and safe process for all concerned, because they do this work regularly and know all the tricks to a fast and effective job. This takes the burden of responsibility from the facilities manager and helps to mitigate any impact on residents.

If you’re concerned about water safety in your care home and want to ensure you are compliant with all legal regulations, download our comprehensive Guide to water safety in care homes today.