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DoesEnforcementContributetoaReduction intheNumberofCases
ofLegionnaires’Disease
TheUKhaswell known, publicisedguidanceonhow to reduce the risk
associatedwith thepotentialpresenceof
Legionella
inwater systemsand this
guidance has existed, inone formor another, since 1987. Many companies
andconsultants sell trainingcourses tohelpwatersystemusers increase their
awareness and level of understandingofwhat is required from theguidance.
Professional organisations such as theWaterManagement Societyhavewell
advertisedseminarsandtraininglecturesthroughouttheyear.HSEinspectors
visit sites throughout theyear tocheckproactivelyon levelsof compliance to
the guidance and to carry out inspections of systems, risk assessments and
themonitoring and recordingprocesses. TheHSE alsovisits sites reactively
in theevent of anoutbreakofLegionnaires’ disease.
Anumberof attemptedprosecutionsare broughtby theHSEeveryyear.
Someof theseprosecutionattempts are successfulwith theguiltycompanies
having topay ever increasing levels of fines. There has beenone attempt at
prosecuting a person for manslaughter, although the person involved was
foundby the court tobenot guilty. In some cases, individuals suchas senior
managers, and directors of organisations, as well as companies, have been
fined.
It is thereforea fairquestion toask, if theguidance, legislationanduseof
thecourtand legalsystems,has ledtoareduction inthe levelsofLegionnaires’
disease that arebeingencountered in theUK. This isnot aneasyquestion to
answer. While there isanawarenessof theneed forriskreductionprocedures
to be followed, there is no real measure of the level of adherence to these
risk reductionprocesses. Additionally, hospitals and thehealthcare services
maybe lookingmoreclosely for, andmayhavebecomebetter at, identifying
