[Tim Richardson]

Hi All,

As an accredited and certificated Legionella Risk Assessor I would stick my neck out and say that I have never in the last 17 years seen single Almshouse which required this to be done. “testing” the water for bacteria particularly from a mains source will tell you the bacteria concentration at that time on that day. Given the right circumstances the bacteria multiplies exponentially so a low count at 9am could be millions of times higher by 5pm. Testing is only ever needed in large multiple occupancy buildings or healthcare settings where there may be some doubt as to the effectiveness of the controls.

If the right control measures are in place i.e. cold water below 10 degrees and hot above 50 degrees the bacteria cannot grow and testing is pointless.

I do know of some legionella contractors, however who treat all Almshouses the same as Nursing Homes and recommend much higher levels if action than the law or HSE required.

Of course a Legionella Risk Assessment IS required for all properties with water and regular checks on temperature will also always be needed.

Tim

Tim Richardson MCIAT MCIOB FSAI MRICS MEI MIFSM AWMSoc WMSoc Cert

Chartered Architectural Technologist, Chartered Construction Manager, Chartered Building Surveyor, CIAT-Accredited Conservationist
Accredited Domestic Energy Assessor
Registered Fire Risk Assessor
Accredited & Certified Legionella Risk Assessor

[Tim Richardson]

True the risk is from fine spray but all outlets should be flushed at least fortnightly otherwise dead legs become present in which legionella bacteria can proliferate – if this then spreads throughout the system it can colonise other outlets such as spray taps, hosepipes and showers. Flushing fortnightly is a control strategy to prevent legionella from breeding in the first place.

Daily flushing would be better true and if this can be achieved then great, the British Standard and HSE look for a reasonable balance though and fortnightly is considered reasonable. Slightly perversely the worst time for legionella in hoses in is winter because, in some cases, an outside tap won’t be used from September until April.

Absolutely residents should be responsible, otherwise the burden of flushing all the taps becomes ridiculous. In my opinion (from a legionella perspective) almshouses are the same as Council property where tenants are responsible, no one would consider it reasonable for the Council to visit every house weekly and flush everyones taps. On the other hand I’ve seen a few almshouses where residents can no longer access the first floor – in those cases I recommend that the charity or carers flush the upstairs outlets fortnightly to avoid potential infection.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 4 weeks ago by Tim Richardson.

[Tim Richardson]

Nick is spot on, more charities are doing this though and from personal experience I have seen an almshouse resident die from smoke inhalation after a fire was caused by her television catching fire. The charity did not PAT test resident’s own items, perhaps if it had she would still be alive.

[Tim Richardson]

Extinguishers within individual flats are not really a good idea – they need to be regularly serviced and the guidance (which is not for individual dwellings) suggests people should be trained to use them.

Fire blankets, on the other hand, are service free and more often provided as training is not required.

Neither is mandatory however and an immediate evacuation is the best policy.

Tim Richardson – Panel consultant and Nationally Registered Fire Risk Assessor.

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by Tim Richardson.

[Tim Richardson]

If the water is regularly turned over – say fortnightly then there’s no reason to flush the tap itself.

Tim Richardson AWMSoc CertWMSoc- Panel consultant and Accredited and Certified Legionella Risk Assessor

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by Tim Richardson.

[Tim Richardson]

As it stands the policy statement from August 2024 gave registered providers with under 50 units 4 years to comply. This is not an answer by any means but does mean that you should have until August 2028 to decide what to do – de-register or see if another exemption is forthcoming.

[Tim Richardson]

Yes, the bill is wordy but the requirements for qualified staff are only for “Registered providers”.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Tim Richardson.

[Tim Richardson]

That’s good then, so the majority of small Almshouses are unaffected and those that are currently Registered Providers should de-register. Simple enough.

[Tim Richardson]

My understanding was that this only applies to “Registered Providers” which the majority of smaller Almshouses are not. Many have also de-registered over the years too. If this applied to every Almshouse I guess it would finish off the majority of them.

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