Specialist Water Hygiene Training Courses

HTM 04-01 is NHS guidance titled Safe Water in Healthcare Premises. It sets out how healthcare organisations should manage, design, and maintain water systems to reduce the risk of Legionella and other waterborne bacteria in hospitals and clinical environments.

Legionella is a type of bacteria that can grow in water systems and cause Legionnaires’ disease when inhaled through water droplets. Water hygiene training helps professionals control conditions in water systems that allow Legionella to grow, such as stagnant water or incorrect temperatures.

While training itself is not a direct legal requirement, healthcare organisations must comply with health and safety legislation and guidance such as ACOP L8 and HTM 04-01. This means staff responsible for water systems must be competent, and training is a key way to demonstrate that competence.

An Authorised Person (Water) is a competent individual responsible for the operational management of healthcare water systems. Water hygiene training supports these professionals in understanding risks, control measures, and compliance requirements under HTM 04-01.

The main risk is Legionella bacteria growth in hot and cold-water systems. Training also helps reduce risks from other waterborne pathogens, poor system design, stagnation, incorrect temperatures, and inadequate system monitoring.

Healthcare water systems should be monitored regularly as part of a written control scheme. This includes temperature checks, flushing regimes, risk assessments, and ongoing review in line with HTM 04-01 guidance and organisational policies.