The Care Quality Commission has issued two fixed penalty notices totalling £2500 to a North Hull nursing home following the discovery of legionella in five out of nine water samples taken as part of the home’s water hygiene monitoring in September of last year.

Although the nursing home took the correct immediate actions to eradicate the legionella and to prevent a further occurrence by organising a disinfection, they failed to notify the incident to the CQC and they also failed to suspend the home manager. Consequently, the CQC considered these to be breaches of Regulations 18 and 15 of the Health & Social Care Act and issued the nursing home with the fines, which the owners accepted and paid.

Although legionella had been found in the water samples, there had been no outbreak of Legionnaires Disease at the property.