CareHomeDeskCareHomeDeskThe Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 extended CO detection requirements to all rooms in England containing a gas appliance (excluding gas cookers). Care homes must have a CO alarm in every room with a gas boiler, gas fire or gas heater, and must test alarms regularly and maintain a written log.
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 extended England's carbon monoxide detection requirements beyond private rented housing to cover a wider range of premises with fixed combustion appliances. Care homes with gas boilers, gas fires or gas heaters must have a working CO alarm installed in every room containing such an appliance, with the exception of gas cookers, which are not covered by the alarm requirement. Operators should check current guidance for their specific setting, as requirements have evolved and continue to be clarified for non-domestic and regulated care premises.
Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless and tasteless, so there is no natural warning sign before exposure becomes dangerous. Symptoms such as headache, confusion and drowsiness are easily mistaken for unrelated illness, especially in older residents or those with dementia, who may also be unable to recognise the danger or move themselves away from it. This is why detection is treated as a mandatory engineering control rather than something that can be managed through staff vigilance alone.
CO alarms should be sited in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and British Standard guidance, typically at head height on a wall or on the ceiling, away from the immediate vicinity of the appliance itself so they detect ambient CO build-up rather than being triggered by normal combustion by-products near the flue. Alarms should carry a British or European approval mark and be replaced at the end of their stated working life, which for most sealed-unit alarms is around ten years -- this expiry should be tracked alongside other compliance dates, not assumed to run indefinitely.
A written log of alarm testing should be kept for every unit, recording the test date, the outcome, and any unit replaced. Most alarms have a test button that should be checked on a regular schedule -- commonly monthly -- with battery or unit replacement carried out promptly when a low-battery or end-of-life signal appears. This log forms part of the evidence base for both CQC inspection and any HSE investigation following an incident, and an absence of testing records undermines an operator's ability to show the alarm was actually functioning.
A carbon monoxide death or serious poisoning at premises lacking the required detection creates exposure under both the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations, and is likely to be treated as an aggravating factor in any prosecution given the known vulnerability of care home residents. Local authorities also have enforcement powers under the Regulations, including remedial notices and penalty charges, separate from any HSE action.
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