A LIVERPOOL hospital has been fined £35,000 after high levels of the bacteria which leads to Legionnaires’ disease were found in its water supply.
Liverpool Heart and Chest hospital, in Broadgreen, was ordered to pay the money after a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation.
An HSE inspector said last night it was “almost beyond comprehension” the Trust became so “complacent” about testing for the germ.
The findings date back to May, 2006 – January, 2007, but the case was only brought to Liverpool Magistrates Court yesterday.
The Trust pleaded guilty to two charges of putting people at risk, but bosses insist the issue was rectified in 2007 and that procedures have now been overhauled. They said the “named” person in charge of checking for the bacteria was on long-term sick leave, but other staff still carried out checks.
The investigation found unsafe levels of the bacteria legionella in the water supply system for the showers, baths and sinks at the hospital. But there was no direct evidence that two patients, who both contracted Legionnaires’ disease before their deaths in early 2007, were infected at the hospital.
Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard that the NHS Trust had stopped testing the water supply for Legionella, despite high levels of the bacteria being found in the Audrey Leigh wing, in May, 2002.
The HSE criticised the hospital for failing to put suitable control measures in place, and senior management for failing to take responsibility for overseeing the control of the bacteria.
The Trust was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay costs of £12,862.
HSE Inspector Kevin Jones said: “It is almost beyond comprehension that Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospitals NHS Trust became so complacent about Legionella in the water supply system.
