Hope of centre reopening after legionella delay

The Hartsholme Centre is a 10-bed unit which provides intensive care for men

A psychiatric care unit in Lincolnshire could reopen in May after a delay due to high levels of legionella bacteria, health officials said.

The Hartsholme Centre in Lincoln had to close temporarily in October 2022 because of severe staffing challenges.

The Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) said a planned reopening earlier this year was delayed after high levels of legionella bacteria was found.

Officials have now confirmed testing is taking place and they are "hopeful" of opening in May.

At the time of the closure, the trust told the BBC staff shortages meant the centre was "unable to safely run".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, LPFT had planned to fully reopen the site this month after a carrying out a recruitment campaign.

Chris Higgins, director of operations at LPFT, said the plan was put on hold because "we identified that there were high levels of legionella in the unit".

The exact cause of the bacteria remains unknown but testing is being carried out.

"We have another couple of results to come back. If they are clean and clear, then we will be ready to reopen in May," Mr Higgins said.

A report to Lincolnshire County Council’s health scrutiny committee noted the building had previous issues with water quality due to its age and network of water pipes.

It read: “The presence of legionella bacteria has been tackled in the building previously and required the temporary closure of the site whilst maintenance and cleansing took place.

“As a consequence, the trust has robust water management processes in place to manage with regular flushing of systems and water testing to closely monitor.”

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