What is Legionella Training?
Legionella training is an important part of any Legionella risk management programme. The best training courses provide individuals and organisations with the knowledge and skills needed to prevent and control Legionella bacteria in water systems under their control.
Whether you are the duty holder, responsible person, or someone else involved in the management of Legionella at your workplace, completing Legionella training is vital to build the required expertise and maintain the safety of everyone involved with your organisation.
A version of this article examining Legionella training and its importance on the management of workplace risk first appeared in Legionella Control International’s newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.
Who is responsible for controlling Legionella in your workplace?
Most people are aware of Legionnaires’ disease. The outbreak that led to the name of the disease took place in Philadelphia, USA in 1976, when members of an American Legion convention fell ill. In total, 182 cases were associated with a dirty air conditioning system at the hotel where the outbreak took place. Twenty-nine people died.
Legionnaires’ disease is a serious condition affecting the lungs, and is caused by a waterborne bacteria called Legionella. While Legionella occurs naturally in rivers, streams, and similar bodies of water, it can also find its way into manmade water systems. Despite this, Legionnaires’ disease is preventable – if the correct steps are taken to monitor, manage, and maintain a water system.
Business owners and individuals who are responsible for the control of premises – whether that is an employer, landlord, or duty holder – must therefore ensure that all risk factors are either removed or mitigated, to prevent Legionella bacteria from taking hold in their water systems. Training is a key part of this, as it provides those responsible individuals with the required knowledge to do their jobs correctly and safely.
Is Legionella training necessary?
You may be surprised to learn that there is nothing written in law that states you must have Legionella training to perform a Legionella risk assessment or to complete any other duties required of you in your role. This applies to duty holders, responsible persons, and other individuals who take on the responsibility of managing and maintaining a water system.
That said, if you’ve taken on such a role, by law you must be fully aware of the risks posed by Legionella bacteria, and you must be competent to carry-out your duties correctly. One of the best ways to achieve this specialist knowledge is via training.
The same applies to the issue of competency. Are you competent enough to undertake a Legionella risk assessment and identify all risks present? Would you know and understand what would be required for you to remove those risks, or whether you could reduce them by taking other steps to manage them instead?
In simple cases where a landlord is responsible for one or more private dwellings, training may not be necessary. Private homes are not generally seen to pose major risk factors for Legionella bacteria. However, if a building has been altered to provide rooms for multiple individuals, with private bathroom facilities in each room, this would pose different risk factors. In this scenario, training would be worthwhile as the landlord could gain a better understanding of how the water system in the building has changed, how this affects risk and what can be done to mitigate those risks.
What happens if you don’t know what to do about Legionella?
Several major UK businesses and councils have been fined in recent years, all because failings in the management of their water safety systems led to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. Bupa, Barrow Borough Council, and Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals were just some of those fined following outbreaks. A lack of sufficient record keeping, dead legs, failings in maintaining safe water temperatures, dirty water systems, and other elements were among factors that contributed to the failures. In each case, proper training covering the management and control of Legionella risks could have prevented the errors from ever being made.
Legionella training provides essential knowledge
Whoever takes on the responsibility of conducting Legionella risk assessments of buildings under your control should be competent and knowledgeable enough to do the job correctly. As noted above, a landlord responsible for renting out a private house will need to employ common sense in identifying any risks involved in this situation. A house is deemed to be low risk, so in most cases, training may not be required for the landlord to conduct an assessment and ensure the home is safe to use.
However, you should not underestimate the benefits of receiving Legionella training. It may not be a legal requirement, but you should be able to demonstrate adequate competency if you are chosen to complete a Legionella risk assessment, take on the role of the Duty Holder or Responsible Person or conduct any other role as part of a Legionella or water safety management programme.
Therefore, a suitable Legionella training course should be a necessity, as it will give you the level of competency and knowledge required to ensure you can do your job correctly.
What can happen if you don’t receive Legionella training?
If you were responsible for the risk assessment at your premises and you completed it without spotting all the risks, this could potentially cause the bacteria to multiply within the building water systems. This in turn may continue unchecked, placing you, work colleagues and those in the vicinity at risk of exposure to Legionella bacteria and contracting legionellosis or Legionnaires’ disease.
If you recall earlier, we mentioned that Legionnaires’ disease is recognised by safety regulators as being preventable. If you were found to be responsible for an outbreak through negligence, you couldn’t say that you weren’t aware of the risks because you hadn’t had training. It is the responsibility of the business owner, duty holder, employer, or other individuals in charge of water safety to make sure everyone receives proper training. Such training can make the difference between doing an excellent job and missing something crucial that may lead to an outbreak and serious injury to others.
In cases where individuals have been found to have neglected their legal duties regarding water safety or management, whether intentionally or otherwise, they have found themselves on the receiving end of hefty fines. If someone dies from Legionnaires’ disease, those found to be responsible can end up being charged with manslaughter or corporate manslaughter.
Don’t underestimate the importance of Legionella training
You can see, then, that it is difficult to underestimate the importance carried by Legionella training. It will help you understand about the law and best practice, how the bacteria can colonise a water system, and what you need to do to make sure this does not happen on your watch. Suitable training courses should underpin your entire approach to water safety. They deliver knowledge and practical experiences from the trainer, together with information on your legal responsibilities and what to do to prevent Legionella bacteria from rising beyond acceptable levels.
It’s often not enough to take one Legionella training course either. Regular refresher courses are highly recommended and ideal as they help to refresh your mind and update you on any changes to current legislation. Ideally, all those with responsibility for water safety should undertake appropriate training and refresher courses. We are all responsible for water safety, and it should not fall to an individual to oversee monitoring of the situation. There should be clear communication between everyone in your business, and everyone should feel able to highlight potential issues at any time.
Legionella training can underpin all this, but most importantly, it can result in feeling confident about achieving the ongoing safety and reliability of the water system you are responsible for.
World-leading Legionella risk management specialists
Rated highly by our clients, we work closely with organisations, across all sectors throughout the UK and internationally, training people with responsibility for the control of Legionella in the workplace to give them the skills and knowledge to perform their duties effectively and so meet their social and legal obligations with confidence.
If you are a landlord, business owner, health and safety manager, property and facilities specialist, the duty holder or responsible person and would like to learn more about our City & Guilds accredited Legionella training courses please contact us today.
Our experts can quickly help you develop practical learning and staff development plans that will help to keep people safe, protect your reputation and demonstrate to safety regulators and other important stakeholders that you are taking appropriate measures to manage the risks in your business.
To speak with one of our training specialists’ call us today on 0330 223 36 86 or contact us here …
