The NHS Estates Technical Bulletin (NETB) No. 2024/3 provides supplementary guidance to HTM 04-01: Safe Water in Healthcare Premises. The purpose of this bulletin is to highlight the importance of ensuring that healthcare environments are designed and managed to protect patients who are at high risk of infection from non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) and other waterborne pathogens. While the principle is clear, an important question remains: what does this mean in practical terms for the day-to-day management of water safety in healthcare settings? Karina Jones, principal Authorising Engineer at Eta Projects, tells us more.
Through long-term involvement in healthcare water management, numerous conversations with professionals across the sector have highlighted a consistent and significant issue: a gap between estates-managed water safety systems and frontline clinical practice, including contractors who carry out a wide range of Planned Preventative Maintenance on water assets.
There is an operational gap in existence which creates a risk. Discussions with a wide range of professionals involved in water management, including:
Log in or register FREE to read the rest
This story is Premium Content and is only available to registered users. Please log in at the top of the page to view the full text.
If you don't already have an account, please register with us completely free of charge.