Scottish Health Facilities Note 30 - Health Facilities Scotland

SHFN 30: Infection Control in the Built Environment: Design and Planning
6. Legislative issues
Health and safety
6.1 Due to the complexity of the process of developing a new healthcare facility,
there is a great scope for errors and omissions which can affect the delivered
facility in terms of its ability to contribute to, or at least limit the spread of
infection.
6.2 HAI is a health and safety issue and the actions or omissions of those involved
in the provision or operation of the facility could become evidence in any legal
action stemming from an infection. For this reason it is essential that, as with
other considerations of professional competence, all those involved in the
commissioning, procurement, design and planning and construction
refurbishment or ongoing maintenance are able to demonstrate that appropriate
expertise was in place and advice sought.
6.3 A number of pieces of legislation put the primary responsibility for the safety of
the facility, including HAI, on the employer, usually the NHS Board. In
construction procurement the ‘employer’ sets the resource, assesses the
competence of the Design Team and evaluates the output. This means the
employer should lead on setting the quality culture that will deliver a safe
environment.
Health and Safety legislation and prevention and control of
infection
6.4 It is important to remember that many of the recommendations in this guidance,
while evidence based, may also be required by Health and Safety law in respect
of controlling the risk of infection to staff and patients. This needs to be taken
into account during the process of planning, designing and maintaining
healthcare premises, as this will clearly influence the final outcome. The
following outlines some of the key features of relevant legislation which impinge
on the control of infection. Other relevant legislation may also be applicable.
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
6.5 The duties of employers under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974,
including protecting the health, safety and welfare of employees, extends to
patients and others who may be affected by any work – this includes control of
infection measures.
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998
6.6 Anyone involved in the supply of equipment, plant or machinery for use at work
has to make sure that, as far as is reasonably practicable, it is safe and does
not cause any risk to health when used at work.
7Version 3: January 2007 Page 24 of 129
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