Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the publication entitled Health Technical Memorandum 04-01: Safe water in healthcare premises, updated on 27 August 2024, what processes are in place to help support the (a) NHS and (b) healthcare sector with the implementation of the NHS Estates Technical Bulletin No.2024/3.

The Health Technical Memorandum 04-01: Safe water in healthcare premises was last updated in 2016, and is currently being reviewed for the publication of an update in 2026.

The NHS Estates Technical Bulletin (NETB) No.2024/3: Designing safe spaces for patients at high risk of infection from nontuberculous mycobacteria and other waterborne pathogens was created in response to a recent outbreak of mycobacterium abscessus (Mab), a nontuberculous mycobacterium, and the resulting risks for vulnerable patients in specialised wards/units. The NETB was created in response to a Regulation 28 report from the coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

National Health Service organisations are responsible for reviewing their own organisational risks, in line with the guidance, for this specialist group, and for managing its implementation at a local level.