Gatton Place: Why we closed this building and why it is now open again
On Wednesday 5 February, we became aware that two staff members who work at Gatton Place had become unwell with Legionnaires’ disease.
Legionnaires’ disease is caught by breathing in tiny droplets of water containing the bacteria that cause the infection. It can’t be passed from person to person so you cannot “catch” it from someone else, but it can be serious.
As soon as we knew about the unwell staff, we immediately brought in an expert to advise us and discussed the case with Public Health England, who are responsible for serious illnesses like Legionnaires’. We took the decision to close the building that same day while we looked into what had happened.
Our teams worked really hard to make sure that closing the building had as little impact as possible on the people who use our services, but we know it was inconvenient for some and we apologise for this. It is always really important to us to keep people safe, whether they are using our services, carers or staff, and we thought it was important to be absolutely sure we were not putting anyone at risk.
While the building was closed, we ran tests and did some work. We couldn’t be sure if the problem was in our building or not, but we wanted to make sure it was safe.
All of this work was completed on Monday 10 February and we are pleased to say that we are now confident that the building is now safe. That is why we decided to reopen Gatton Place the next morning, at 8am on Tuesday 11 February.
Our Chief Medical Officer, Dr Justin Wilson, said “The symptoms of Legionnaire’s disease are similar to severe flu. If you’re worried or would like to know how to spot the signs, dial 111 or visit the NHS website for advice.
If anyone would like to know more detail about why we believe the building to be safe, we have published more information at the bottom of this page.
Legionnaires’ disease - Extract from Gatton Place risk assessment - 10 February 2020
People can catch Legionnaires' disease if they breathe in tiny droplets of water containing Legionella bacteria.
For a person to be able to contract Legionnaires’ disease ALL of the below must be satisfied:
1. Water must be contaminated with Legionella bacteria
2. Water must be still, ie stagnant
3. Water must be the correct temperature for the bacteria to grow to sufficient concentrations, which is between 20⁰ and 45⁰ Celsius (68⁰ to 113⁰ Fahrenheit)
4. Water must be transmitted into the air in droplets
5. A person must inhale the infected droplets of water
The following have been checked and we have been told that they are not potential sources of Legionella in the building:
Water cooler
The cooler is fed directly from the mains water (so the water is not stagnant), is filtered and is designed not to atomise water into droplets in the air.
Toilets
The toilets do not spray droplets in people’s faces. In addition, the water is too cold for Legionella bacteria.
Heating and cooling system
The design of the system does not allow the bacteria to grow. There is no cooler tower or humidifier, which have been associated with Legionnaires’ outbreaks elsewhere.
Kitchen taps
The cold taps are too cold for Legionella bacteria and are mains-fed and used regularly. The hot taps are too hot for Legionella and used regularly.
We have found some places where Legionella could possibly grow, so we've taken precautionary steps to make sure these are safe:
Washroom taps
Microbiological filters have been fitted to all taps that will prevent bacteria (including many that are much smaller than Legionella) passing through. These will be checked daily and replaced monthly.
Shower
The water supply to the shower has been turned off.
As every potential source of the disease in the building has now been assessed to be “No Risk”, we have decided to reopen the building.
Further information – 25 February 2020
Is the water in the kitchens safe to drink?
There are no filters on the kitchen taps because they are safe.
The cold water kitchen taps (and the water cooler in reception) are fed from the mains and therefore do not require filters to be safe.
The hot water is much too hot for dangerous bacteria to be able to grow and therefore also requires no filter. Therefore, all kitchen taps are completely safe to use, without filters.
Are the taps in the third floor kitchen safe?
Someone said that they had been “advised not to use the tap water for drinking”. This is incorrect advice. The kitchen taps on all floors are connected to mains supply, which cannot be infected and is safe to drink, without a need for filters.
When can the filters be removed?
Work to ensure the rest of the water system will be safe without the need for filters begins on 26 February and will continue over the following weekend. We will then assess whether more work is required. We will then need to wait until testing demonstrates the filters can be removed. Our best estimate is that it’s probably going to take around a month.
Is there water in the heating / cooling system?
The way that Gatton Place’s system works, no water can make its way into the ventilation system. The bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease requires pools of water to grow in, and cannot develop from isolated droplets caused by condensation, which is the only water that can be found in the system.
Why haven’t Surrey County Council staff returned to the building?
Our understanding is that Surrey County Council has yet to receive certain documentation that they requested from the landlord. Surrey and Borders received this documentation before we reopened the building.
What bacteria did our investigations in the building find?
The type of bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease is called “Legionella pneumophila (serogroup 1)”. There have also been possible cases where serogroups 6 and 12 may have caused Legionnaires‘ disease. We did not find any of these types of bacteria.
In one location (a pipe leading to a toilet hand basin in a men’s toilets) the testing found bacteria called “Legionella species (non-pneumophila)”. Like many other types of bacteria, this can make people unwell but it does not cause Legionnaires’ disease.