CareHomeDeskCareHomeDeskEICR: A Guide for Care Home Managers
What the Electrical Installation Condition Report covers, how often you need one, and how to act on it.
PAT Testing in Care Homes
What portable appliance testing is required, at what frequency, and what records to keep.
EV Charging at Care Homes: What You Need to Know
Staff and visitor EV charging -- planning, electrical capacity, grants and safety considerations.
RCD Protection: What Care Homes Need
Types of RCD, where they are required, and what the 18th Edition of the wiring regulations changed.
Electrical Safety Certificates: What They Are and Where They Are Kept
EICRs, Minor Works Certificates, Installation Certificates -- the full set and how long to retain them.
Power Cut Emergency Planning for Care Homes
What backup systems are required, how long they must last, and what your business continuity plan must cover.
Solar Panels at Care Homes: Planning, Safety and Savings
The case for solar PV, what the installation involves, and the ongoing maintenance obligations.
Emergency Lighting and the EICR
How emergency lighting is treated within the EICR and what separate certification is needed.
What the EICR Covers Room by Room
How the EICR is structured and what the electrician is checking in each area of a care home.
EICR certificates in care homes: frequency, what the report means, and what to do with outstanding C2 observations
The five-year maximum, how to read the classification codes, and why C2 items can't wait.
PAT testing in care homes: what the law says, what it doesn't say, and how often is actually required
No, there's no legal frequency. Here's what the Electricity at Work Regulations actually require.
EICR fixed-wire testing: NHS and private care home frequency difference clarified
The IET has confirmed that care homes operating under CQC registration should treat their EICR cycle as a maximum of five years, irrespective of building age or tenure type.
Emergency lighting: BS 5266 testing requirements in care settings
BS 5266 mandates monthly functional tests and an annual full-duration discharge test for emergency lighting in care homes. Failures must be remediated within 24 hours for occupied premises.
EV charging points on care home sites: planning, installation and compliance considerations
OZEV regulations require all new EV charge points on non-domestic sites to be smart-enabled and able to communicate with the grid. Care homes with visitor or staff carparks need to assess their compliance position.
EICR C2 observations in care homes: what they mean, how long you have to act, and what to do with the remediation certificate
A C2 observation on an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) indicates a potentially dangerous condition that requires urgent attention. There is no defined statutory deadline for C2 remediation, but HSE guidance and industry practice treat C2 items as requiring action within 28 days.
Electrical visual inspection between EICRs: what BS 7671 recommends and how to log it
BS 7671 (18th Edition) recommends periodic visual inspection of electrical installations between formal EICRs. In care homes, where electrical equipment is subject to heavy and continuous use, HSE recommends visual checks are carried out at intervals not exceeding three months.
PAT testing in care homes: what the law actually requires, what it does not, and how often is defensible
There is no legislation that specifies mandatory PAT testing frequencies. The legal requirement under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 is that electrical equipment is maintained in a safe condition. PAT testing is one way of demonstrating this -- but frequency must be risk-assessed, not assumed.
Emergency lighting in care homes: BS 5266 testing requirements and what the log must contain
BS 5266-1 requires that emergency lighting systems are tested monthly (short duration) and annually (full rated duration). For care homes, the annual test must demonstrate that all luminaires maintain illumination for the full rated duration -- typically three hours for maintained systems.
RCD protection requirements in care homes: what BS 7671 18th Edition Amendment 2 now requires
Amendment 2 to BS 7671 (18th Edition), effective from 28 September 2022, significantly extended the requirement for RCD protection. All socket outlets up to 32A in care homes now require RCD protection, and all lighting circuits in locations containing a bath or shower must be RCD-protected.
Solar PV on care home roofs: electrical safety, maintenance obligations and what the DC isolator requirement means for you
Solar PV installations on care home roofs introduce live DC cabling that presents different risks from standard AC electrical systems. DC cabling remains live even when the inverter is off, requiring specific fire service isolation procedures. BS 7671 and MCS standards require annual inspection and periodic PAT of the AC side.
Electrical qualifications explained: what to look for when hiring an electrician
For care home managers commissioning EICR or electrical installation work, City and Guilds 2391 or 2394/2395 is the minimum standard for inspection and testing.
EICR in care homes: how often, who can carry it out, and what the certificate must show
Electrical Installation Condition Reports are expected by CQC, HSE and insurers. The accepted standard for care homes is every five years. Here is what the report must contain and how to verify your electrician is qualified.
The contractor's view
When you get an EICR, the code is what matters. C1 means danger present -- you must act immediately, the supply can be made dead. C2 means potentially dangerous -- you need a programme with a firm deadline, not a vague intention. C3 is a recommendation only; you are not legally obliged to act, though it is good practice. Many contractors present C3 items as urgent remedials to inflate the job.
PAT testing is not a legal requirement under any specific regulation -- it is one way of meeting your duty under the Electricity at Work Regulations. The frequency should be based on risk, not a salesperson's schedule. In a care home, medical equipment gets tested more often than the kettle. If someone is telling you everything needs annual PAT, ask them to show you the risk basis.
Care home electrical systems run 24 hours a day under heavy load with vulnerable users and specialist equipment. A domestic or light commercial electrician is not the right choice for fixed wire testing in this environment. You need someone who understands the specific demands and can interpret the results in context.
Emergency lighting annual tests must run for the full three-hour duration. Many contractors press the test button, watch for thirty seconds, and sign it off. Ask to see the duration log. If there is not one, the test was not conducted correctly and your certification is worthless.
Any electrical work that breaks into the fabric of the building -- new circuits, socket additions, penetrations -- should trigger a partial re-test of the affected circuits. If a builder has done work in the last few years and there is no supplementary EICR, you have a gap in your records that an inspector will find.
Peer insight
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See how experienced care home managers handle the same challenges. Real situations, real decisions -- not what the guidance says, what people actually do.
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