CareHomeDeskCareHomeDeskThe Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 cover more equipment than most care home managers realise -- including hoists, stairlifts, ceiling tracks and passenger lifts.
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) apply to all lifting equipment used at work to lift or lower loads, including people. In a care home, this includes: mobile floor hoists, ceiling track hoist systems, passenger lifts, stairlifts, platform lifts (vertical and inclined), dumb waiters, and window-cleaning access equipment. The scope is broader than many managers assume. If the equipment lifts or lowers a person or a load as part of its primary function, LOLER applies. If you are unsure whether a specific piece of equipment is in scope, the HSE LOLER guidance (L113) is the definitive reference.
LOLER duties fall on the employer or, where equipment is provided for use at work but not by the employer, on the person who controls the equipment. For care home equipment, the duty holder is the care home provider -- not the equipment manufacturer, not the maintenance contractor, and not the landlord (unless the landlord controls the equipment directly). This means the care home operator is responsible for ensuring that thorough examinations are arranged, that defects are reported and acted upon, and that records are maintained. Where agency staff use hoist equipment, the care home retains the LOLER duty for that equipment.
LOLER requires four principal things: that lifting equipment is strong and stable enough for its intended load (shown by the Safe Working Load marked on the equipment); that thorough examinations are carried out by a competent person at the prescribed intervals; that any defects found are reported in writing and acted upon before the equipment is used again; and that records of all thorough examinations are kept for the life of the equipment. In addition, all lifting operations must be properly planned and supervised by a competent person. For care home hoisting, this means having trained, assessed-competent staff operating the equipment and a system for confirming that the resident's weight does not exceed the SWL.
Not all equipment used with people in care homes falls under LOLER. Wheelchairs without a powered lifting mechanism, manual handling aids (slide sheets, transfer belts, standing frames), and bed raising/lowering mechanisms are generally covered by the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) rather than LOLER. PUWER requires that equipment is suitable, maintained, and that users are trained -- but the prescribed thorough examination intervals are different. Do not assume that PUWER equipment is unregulated -- it still requires maintenance and inspection, just under a different regulatory framework.
LOLER makes an important distinction between a thorough examination (a formal, documented check by an independent competent person) and an inspection (a routine in-house check). Both are required. A thorough examination is carried out at the statutory intervals by a competent person who is independent of the organisation responsible for maintaining the equipment -- typically an engineer from an insurance company or a specialist inspection firm. An inspection is a more frequent, in-house check -- typically daily or weekly for hoists -- carried out by trained staff to identify any obvious defects before use. Neither replaces the other.
CareHomeDesk gives you compliance checklists, maintenance logs, and contractor management tools built around exactly this kind of knowledge.