What Is a Legionella Course, and What Does It Entail?

Training courses are an important part of any job, and not just as a way of enhancing your professional skills. Under health and safety law, learning how to keep your staff and visitors safe is a vital part of your business responsibilities, and legionella courses are part of that responsibility. 

We have a number of one day classroom-based training courses that will teach you what you need to know about legionella and various aspects of its management. Each course ends with an online assessment, with certification on successful completion. 

Why Is Taking a Legionella Training Course Important for Individuals and Organisations?

As an employer, one of your responsibilities under The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) is the safety of your staff, customers and visitors. The Act applies as much to managing the risks from legionella as it does to managing fire risks, keeping your people safe from trip hazards etc. As a microorganism, legionella also comes under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 and Amendment 2003 and 2004 (COSHH) which require employers to prevent or control hazardous substances at work so they do not cause ill health. Legionella training courses provide the vital information and direction needed for individuals responsible for workplace safety to minimise all the safety risks. 

Who Needs to Go On Legionella Courses?

The question of who needs to go on legionella courses depends on whether or not you want to manage your own risks or hand over responsibility to a water hygiene specialist like uRisk. 

The starting point would be to do a Legionella awareness training course which will give you a good grounding in Legionella bacteria and Legionnaires’ disease and an understanding of why it’s so important to manage the risks. You can then decide the best way forward for you and your company, and your appointed responsible person/s. For the most basic information, you can sign up for our low price Online Legionella Awareness Training Course which, at only £35 +VAT is extremely good value for money. Our classroom-based Legionella Awareness Training Course goes into the subject in more depth, led by our specialists who are experienced in the management and testing of legionella bacteria. And, of course, you’ll be able to ask your tutor as many questions as you need to.  

If you decide to do your own legionella risk management, we have more focused courses that go into the practicalities in more depth. This means you can learn how to do Legionella Risk Assessments, conduct your own Hot and Cold Monitoring and Inspection and Clean and Disinfection Services, how to use Water Softeners and why they could be necessary, how to look after Spa Pools safely, as well as looking at Other Risk Systems. 

What Are the Primary Objectives of a Legionella Course?

The objectives of our legionella training courses are to help Duty Holders and Responsible Persons to better understand legionella, Legionnaires’ disease, the problems your business will encounter if there is a legionella outbreak and, most importantly, how legionella risk assessment can help you minimise the risks. 

All our courses are written in accordance with the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) l8 (HSG 274) and cover the areas necessary in detail.

If you would like to find out more about your business’s responsibilities when it comes to legionella awareness, risk assessments and legionella control, check out our Legionella FAQs page or contact us for more information.