The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow reopens following Legionnaires’ outbreak
The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow has reopened for guests today following an incident of Legionnaires’ disease.
The hotel was asked to close as a precautionary measure on the advice of health professionals from Public Health England West Midlands and Shropshire Council.
The move to close the hotel followed laboratory test results establishing links between Legionella bacteria found in water samples from the hotel plumbing and two separate, confirmed cases of Legionnaires disease in guests (both from Merseyside) who stayed at the hotel.
The first case was diagnosed in April 2017 and made a recovery. Another guest who stayed at the hotel on July 31st as part of a coach tour excursion died after suffering a stroke as a result of Legionnaires’ disease, which emerged just days after she stayed at the hotel with her husband. Elaine Brown passed away aged 69 at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on August 26th.
Since its closure, work has been carried out by the hotel management on advice from health specialists to identify possible sources of contamination and carry out remedial works. The hotel has also ensured that the necessary procedures are in place to manage and maintain the water system at the hotel and that thorough and ongoing controls and monitoring will be carried out by the hotel on a regular basis.
Final samples were taken to verify that all necessary work has been effective, and returned satisfactorily.
Shropshire Council is now at the early stages of a formal investigation under the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 into the incident and say it is likely to take a significant period of time to complete.
