Legionella has been discovered in a NHS Grampian hospital in Peterhead.
NHS bosses confirmed that the bacteria was detected at Peterhead Community Hospital, after earlier in the week confirming there were water quality issues.
Both the renal ward, and the 16-bed summers ward have remained open – but all other departments including A&E and the maternity unit are closed.
Jeff Shaw, partnership manager for Aberdeenshire H&SCP, said: “With the detection of legionella at Peterhead Community Hospital and Health Centre we have had to put a number of mitigations in place such as the installation of point of use filters on taps.
“We are taking every necessary precaution to ensure the safety of our staff and patients, both those at summers ward and those that visit the health centre or an outpatient clinic.
“Although the risk of infection is slight, we would ask every visitor to the site to adhere to the safety instructions and please remain patient with staff as they are doing an amazing job in difficult circumstances.”
The renal unit remains open, a spokeswoman said: “The risk of contracting Legionnaires’ Disease is very small, and the water used in the dialysis process is ultra-filtered and as such it is safe to continue to receive dialysis at the unit.”
Earlier this week, family of patients raised concerns after being told they were told they were not allowed to use water, or flush toilets.
Patients were being washed by wet wipe.
Legionella is a bacterium which can cause Legionnaires’ Disease.
What has NHS Grampian done?
A spokeswoman said: “We have installed point of use filters to certain taps and all shower heads across the hospital site and the health centre. This will ensure that the water that runs from the tap is safe to use for cleaning, hand washing and other such activities.
“This is also true for the use of showers.
“We are also in the process of ensuring that all toilets have a ‘lid’ and that each toilet is flushed with the lid down to decrease the likelihood of water droplets containing Legionella being released into the air and inhaled.
“It is also for this reason that we have recommended a 20 minute ‘grace period’ in between uses of all toilets. We would also recommend people use a face mask when flushing the toilet. This is an added precaution.”
Bacteria in the water, including legionella, are removed by point of use filters to make the water safe to use as it normally would be.
What is Legionnaires’ Disease?
Legionnaires’ disease is a lung infection (a type of severe pneumonia) you can get from inhaling droplets of water from things like air conditioning or hot tubs. It’s uncommon but it can be very serious
You can get Legionnaires’ disease if you breathe in tiny droplets of water containing bacteria that causes the infection.
You can get Legionnaires’ disease from things like:
- air conditioning systems that are not properly maintained
- humidifiers that are not properly maintained
- taps and showers that are not used often
Most healthy people do not get Legionnaires’ disease after being exposed to Legionella. Being 50 years or older or having certain risk factors can increase your chances of becoming unwell, but it is still rare.
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