Aqualytix, a specialist in water treatment and Legionella control, is now in its second year of providing water hygiene services to County Hospital, located in Stafford, part of the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.
Since 2022, we’ve expanded our range of services to the hospital, reflecting the partnership’s success in keeping staff and patients safe from water hygiene risks, including Legionella bacteria associated with water systems.
Heightened regulatory standards for hospitals
Matt Dennis, Regional Sales Manager for Aqualytix, is no stranger to the hospital, having worked there a few years ago on a different contract. Over the years, he’s helped to cultivate a strong relationship with the estates management team, which he believes is based on expertise, transparency, and trust.
Matt explained, “When you provide water hygiene services to a hospital, you must adhere to a different set of regulations.
“The estates management team relies on our expertise in these regulations to uphold rigorous standards in maintaining the safety and cleanliness of their water systems. This is so they can protect everyone on site, including patients with compromised immune systems. We meet monthly to keep them informed about our work to maintain compliance.
They also trust us to manage their water hygiene software, essentially a digital compliance logbook. It provides a 100% transparent picture of the hospital’s water systems, their compliance status, and the work our team has done to check or repair those water systems.”
Maintaining high standards of water hygiene in healthcare settings
Matt and his team look after thousands of water assets and perform various tasks in line with regulatory requirements in Stafford County Hospital and other healthcare settings across Great Britain.
Tasks often include risk assessments, water sampling and testing, temperature control, water treatment and disinfection, and maintaining and repairing assets like thermostatic mixing valves and steam boilers.
Matt added, “To bring this to life, let’s take steam boilers as an example. These represent critical water assets, providing essential steam to heat hospital spaces, enabling industrial cleaning, sterilising instruments, and preparing food. As they’re such important assets, our team will tend to them every week. They’ll check things like the temperature of the water to ensure it’s high enough to prevent bacteria from proliferating.”
Helping to safeguard health beyond medicine
Steve Bagnall, Estates Operations Manager at Stafford County Hospital, said: “Our partnership with Aqualytix is critical in helping us to mitigate the risk of Legionella bacteria, ensure operational continuity, comply with regulatory standards, and cultivate a culture of safety and wellness within the hospital.
We have a great working relationship with Matt and the team, and I look forward to our partnership growing from strength to strength as we help safeguard the most vulnerable people in our community.”
For more information about water treatment, legionella management services, water hygiene training, water sampling, risk assessments, or remedial work, please visit https://www.stservices.co.uk/water-hygiene/
