
What is a Legionella Risk Assessment and Who Needs One?
Legionella is a type of bacteria that can cause fatal diseases, the most well-known being Legionnaire’s disease. In the UK, all businesses are required to carry out Legionella risk assessments to ensure that water supplies are free of bacteria and safe for employees and customers to use. This applies to all business owners, regardless of the size of the business, as well as landlords in Brighton and throughout the UK.
What is Legionnaires’ disease?
Legionnaire’s is a disease caused by the Legionella bacteria. It causes symptoms of pneumonia and is fatal in around 30% of cases.
Treatment is a course of antibiotics, but because it is fatal in such a high percentage of cases, it’s crucial to treat the problem at the source – keeping Legionella out of commercial water systems.
Legionella risk assessments for landlords
Although rental properties carry a fairly low risk of Legionella, it’s still a legal requirement for landlords to routinely carry out risk assessments.
A risk assessment and test should be carried out by a professional water management engineer, like our team at Aquacare Ltd.
We’ll carry out a risk assessment of your rental property and give our advice on the best water management system to keep your tenants safe.
There is no official certificate for carrying on these assessments, but you’ll be given a record to keep as proof should you need to show new tenants.
Is legionella testing a legal requirement?
Not all properties require routine Legionella testing, but we’ll be able to advise you whether this is the case for your property.
In general, large, complex water systems that include cooling towers, swimming pools, or hot tubs will need testing every three months. Smaller systems won’t need testing as regularly.
Legionella risk assessments for dentists
People in healthcare settings are at greater risk of developing Legionnaire’s disease, so it’s critical to have routine risk assessments and testing done in medical facilities and dental practices.
Because dental practices have water-based tools, Legionella is more likely to develop in pipelines, especially since these can sit stagnant over weekends and evenings.
As such, we provide regular testing and water system management for dental practices in Brighton, Sussex, Peacehaven, Surrey, and Kent.
We work with a network of dental practices in the area to provide a tailored water treatment plan to ensure all water systems are Legionella free and safe to use.
If you’re interested in our Legionella risk assessment and testing services, call today for a free consultation and quote: 01273 423 331.