CareHomeDeskCareHomeDeskPassenger lifts in care homes are subject to both LOLER 1998 (six-monthly thorough examination) and PSSR 2000 (written scheme of examination for hydraulic systems). Many care home lift service contracts provide maintenance only -- without the mandatory statutory examination that these regulations require.
Passenger lifts in care homes typically sit under two distinct sets of regulations that are often confused. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) require lifting equipment, including passenger lifts, to undergo thorough examination by a competent person at a defined interval, commonly every six months for passenger-carrying lifts. Separately, hydraulic lift systems containing a pressure vessel may also fall under the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, requiring a written scheme of examination for that component.
A standard lift maintenance contract typically covers routine servicing -- lubrication, adjustment, replacement of worn parts -- which keeps the lift running but is a different activity from the statutory thorough examination required under LOLER. It is common for care home operators to assume their maintenance contract satisfies their legal obligations, only to discover the contract does not include the independent LOLER examination and certification, leaving the lift technically non-compliant despite being well maintained.
A LOLER thorough examination must be carried out by a person independently competent to assess the lift's safety, and must result in a written report identifying any defects, whether they present an existing or imminent danger, and a deadline for rectification. This examination report -- not the maintenance service record -- is the document that demonstrates statutory compliance, and it should be current, on file, and readily producible on request.
Care home operators should review their lift contract specifically to confirm whether it includes the LOLER thorough examination, whether the frequency meets the statutory interval for the lift type, and whether a written scheme of examination is in place for any hydraulic pressure component under PSSR 2000. Where the contract only covers routine servicing, a separate LOLER examination arrangement needs to be put in place to close the compliance gap.
If a resident, member of staff or visitor is injured in a lift that does not have a current LOLER examination certificate, the operator is exposed to both regulatory enforcement and a much weaker position in any subsequent liability claim, since the absence of a valid certificate is straightforward for an investigator to identify. CQC inspectors increasingly ask to see current lift examination certificates as part of the Regulation 15 premises and equipment evidence review, so this is a document that should be readily available, not something that needs to be chased down when requested.
CareHomeDesk gives you compliance checklists, maintenance logs, and contractor management tools built around exactly this kind of knowledge.