A one-day seminar, hosted by the Getinge Academy, tackled key decontamination issues. Taking place at the Holiday Inn, London Elstree, an audience of healthcare professionals, responsible for general and endoscopy decontamination, gained an insight into water, chemicals, testing and more.
LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.
The problem of contaminated hospital water systems was catapulted into the spotlight in 2012 with media reports of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa incident at neonatal units in Belfast and Londonderry, resulting in the death of four babies. An investigation by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA)1 found that the most likely method of transmission was the use of tap water in washing during nappy changes. Sampling found that that the taps on the neonatal units were contaminated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa.2
More recently, in 2013, the Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was fined £100,000 with costs of £162,000 after admitting breaches in health and safety, between 28 February 2004 and 31 December 2010, in relation to a number of Legionella cases – six people suffered serious illness and two patients died after contracting the infection.3
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