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THREE years after it was last reported in the Gazette, Legionella bacteria is still present in the water system at Forres Health Centre.
In September 2016, an NHS spokesperson stated that remedial work to the health centre water system would be undertaken over the next few weeks to find the cause and prevent the bacteria, which can cause the serious form of pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease, from resurfacing.
More recently, a spokesperson for NHS Grampian said: "There remain issues with the water quality at the Forres Health and Care Centre. A specialist group has been set up to explore a permanent solution.
"Until the matter can be resolved, and in the interests of staff and patient safety, there are strict controls around the use of running water within the health centre."
Legionnaires' disease is a lung infection that can be caught by inhaling droplets of water from things like air conditioning or hot tubs. It is uncommon but can be very serious.
It is usually caught in places like hotels, hospitals or offices where the bacteria have got into the water supply. It is rare to catch it at home.
Local councillor Aaron McLean lives in nearby Thornhill.
He said: "It's disappointing that the new health centre has these problems, even more so that this has been unresolved for a couple of years. NHS Grampian will now be working to rectify this and will be seeking answers on when this will be done."
Forres Health and Care Centre opened in September 2014. Around 500 patients regularly use the £5.5 million facility.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead is writing to NHS Grampian’s chief executive to seek assurances that necessary action is taken to resolve the situation as soon as possible.
He said: "There will be concerns from patients and staff around the ongoing issues with contaminated water at the health centre, particularly given it appears that this has been a problem for some time.
"The safety of patients and staff must be a priority so the strict controls around the use of running water is important."
