Leeds City Council has suspended placements to the city’s Jewish care home,Donisthorpe Hall, after its water supply tested positive for the bacteria legionella.
Samples of water tested at Donisthorpe, in the Moortown neighbourhood, showed the bacteria, which when inhaled via droplets, can lead to Legionnaires' disease, a form of acute lung infection.
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council confirmed that due to the test results, “new local authority placements there have been stopped and we have been providing guidance and advice to the home’s management. We have also been seeking assurance that the necessary steps are being taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the residents.
“We will continue to work closely with families as well as the management at Donisthorpe Hall and to monitor the situation.”
In a statement released by the care home and published by theYorkshire Evening Post, Jane Stone, the registered home manager, assured both residents and relatives that “all precautions have been taken” and that an “extremely effective, robust plan” was in place. She stressed that no one at the home had presented any symptoms of the disease but that management were "constantly monitoring" residents.
The home had informed organisations including the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Leeds City Council, Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group and Public Health England.
“The water system is being chemically treated and samples regularly taken in line with our action plan and risk assessment and all boiler temperatures have been adjusted,” Ms Stone said.
"All test results are showing the disinfection is working and that the bacteria is clearing from the system.
"We are open and transparent with all our test results, which we share with all statutory bodies."
Donisthorpe, - “a care home with an Orthodox Jewish ethos” - has had a series of critical reports from the CQC. At the home’s last inspection, the results of which were published in October 2018, the CQC rated it as requiring improvement overall and in three of the five inspection categories. Previous inspections graded Donisthorpe as inadequate, leading it to be placed in special measures.
At the time of the last inspection, the care home was registered to provide accommodation and nursing for a maximum of 189 people. It then housed 70 residents and the CQC reported: "The registered manager told us they were going to change their registration from 189 to 90."
