Health board fined £24,000 for legionella bug in shower

A HEALTH board has been fined £24,000 after a patient contracted potentially lethal Legionnaires' disease while In hospital.

Maureen Docherty, 64, became severely unwell during her stay at Hartwoodhill Hospital in Shotts, Lanarkshire, after bacteria were found in her shower In 2008. She was transferred to nearby Wishaw General Hospital where she was found to be suffering from pneumonia with severe sepsis. It was then discovered she had Legionnaires' disease, and Mrs Docherty spent days in a critical care unit on a ventilator. She also underwent a tracheotomy. An Investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (14SE) found legionella bacteria present in three sources inthe hospital water system.

Two of those sources, including the shower used daily by the patient, matched the strain of legionella bacterium that had caused the patient's illness. The inquiry also established that a risk assessment into the potential presence of the bacteria had not been carried out. At Hamilton Sheriff Court yesterday, NHS Lanarkshire admitted falling to prevent exposure to legionella bacteria.

Crown Office health and safety spokesman Elaine Taylor said Mrs Docherty contracting the disease was 'entirely avoidable'. She added: 'Over a significant period of time there was no suitable and sufficient assessment or management of the risks of there being legionella bacteria at Hartwoodhill.' Passing sentence, Sheriff Douglas Brown said: 'There was a system-atic failure overa significant period of time. The degree of risk and danger was significant.' A spokesman for NHS Lanarkshire said: 'We deeply regret this lapse in leglonella management from our generally very high standards.'