Quality control of hospital water system

Failure to correctly maintain a hospital water system can lead to the build up of contamination which, in turn, can cause patient harm or even death.¹ For this reason, regular testing and review of the data should form part of a hospital’s infection prevention strategy.

Any assessment needs to consist of understanding the total numbers of microorganisms present; ways to detect the presence of certain pathogenic microorganisms (so-termed ‘objectionable’ organisms); and methods to assess water systems for bacterial endotoxin. Each of these represents an important area with which to assess the quality of hospital water – either at the time of generation or at point of use.

The primary pathogen of concern is Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Pseudomonas is an opportunistic pathogen that can colonise and cause infection in patients who have compromised immunity or whose defences have been breached, for example, via a surgical site, tracheostomy or indwelling medical device such as a vascular catheter. Other pathogens can also be of importance if considered so through risk assessment.