We therefore hope that our 'elected' Parish Council members take great care when making decisions, especially where the safety of their Parishioners is concerned.
In the 'August 2011' Parish Council minutes Cllr Higgins who is Chair of Sports & Leisure Committee reported,
"A water sample from the showers is to be send to Aqua Cert Ltd to be tested for the presence of the Legionella bacteria"
A good decision made here to protect this building and its users?
The HSE, (Health & Safety Executive) say about just taking samples for legionella,
"It depends. Sampling and testing for the presence of legionella bacteria is just one way of checking that your system is under control. But it is not a simple test, as sampling and detecting legionella requires specialist help."
So what should the Parish Council actually be doing to protect the users of the pavilion from the legionella bacteria?
The HSE, (Health & Safety Executive) say,
"Under general health and safety law, you have to consider the risks from legionella that may affect your staff or members of the public and take suitable precautions. As an employer or a person in control of the premises (eg a landlord), you must:
1. Identify and assess sources of risk;
2. Prepare a scheme (or course of action) for preventing or controlling the risk;
3. Implement and manage the scheme - appointing a person to be managerially responsible, sometimes referred to as the 'responsible person';
4. Keep records and check that what has been done is effective."
So does the Parish Council know better than the HSE?
The HSE say that,
"You need to appoint someone to take responsibility for managing the control scheme that you have put in place. The 'responsible person' needs to be competent - that is, they need to have sufficient knowledge and experience of your system to enable them to manage and control the scheme effectively."
So what is going on here Cllr Higgins? I do not think the HSE would be in agreement with the decision process that has gone on here and the overall health and safety of the users is your responsibility! Your comments would be appreciated.
