Hospital’s Laxity Endangers Patients and Employees, HSE Issues Warning
HSE recently conducted an investigation into the level of legionella bacteria in the water of the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Trust after two patients died due to legionnaires’ disease in 2007. The investigation found that the water was highly contaminated with the bacteria. It was also discovered that the hospital had not conducted any tests to check the purity of water, even though in May 2002, one of its wings had been found to have high levels of legionella bacteria.
However, HSE was not able to decide whether the deaths of the two patients were caused due to the existence of bacteria in the hospital water system, or the deceased patients had contracted the virus somewhere else.
However, considering the dangerous level of bacteria in its water, the NHS Trust was ordered to pay a fine of 35,000 pounds by Liverpool Magistrates Court after it accepted liability for its failure to fulfil its obligations under Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974. The Trust was also asked to pay costs of 12,862 pounds. HSE is very unhappy with the present state of the hospital. It criticised the senior officials of the NHS Trust and the hospital for failing to ensure the health of the staff and the patients.
HSE Inspector Kevin Jones said it is surprising that the hospital did not care about the health and safety of its employees and patients and failed to conduct regular tests to check the impurity in water. He added that it is very important that the NHS Trust takes the issue seriously and undertakes frequent water checks to figure out the bacteria levels and prevent any diseases or deaths in the hospital.
Health and Safety training can be provided by reputable companies, such as Workplace Law; their range of accredited courses by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) can assist companies in training staff to be aware of the proper health and safety procedures for all kinds of workplace situations. The managing safely courses are for managers and supervisors in any sector and any organisation. It’s designed to give managers all they need to know to help handle health and safety in their teams.
