CareHomeDeskCareHomeDeskEvery item of lifting equipment in a care home -- hoists, slings, stairlifts, passenger lifts -- has a legal examination requirement. Here is what LOLER requires, what the records must contain, and what happens when a site is inspected.
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) apply to all lifting equipment used at work. In a care home this means: overhead ceiling track hoists, mobile floor hoists, bath hoists, stairlifts, platform lifts, passenger lifts, and the slings and harnesses used with hoists. The critical distinction is between equipment used for lifting persons and equipment used only for goods -- equipment used for lifting persons must be thoroughly examined every 6 months, not 12.
A 'thorough examination' under LOLER is not a service or a maintenance check -- it is a formal examination by a competent person to assess whether the equipment is safe to continue in use. The competent person must be independent from the organisation's maintenance function, though they do not need to be from an external body. In practice, most care providers use an insurance-backed engineering inspection body (such as Allianz, Zurich, or an independent LOAM provider). The examination must produce a written report within 28 days, stating whether the equipment is safe, any defects found, and the date of the next examination.
Hoist slings are lifting accessories under LOLER and must be included in the 6-monthly examination programme. A separate sling register is required identifying each sling by unique ID, type, SWL, resident assignment (for individually-assigned slings) and examination dates. Slings without a current examination record must not be used. Disposable slings should not be reused beyond their rated life as stated in the manufacturer's guidance.
Every item of lifting equipment must be marked with its Safe Working Load (SWL). If the marking is missing or illegible, the equipment must be taken out of use. The SWL marking is checked as part of every thorough examination. The responsible person should check SWL markings are present during routine inspections -- do not wait for the formal examination cycle.
LOLER Regulation 8 requires that lifting operations are properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent persons. For care homes this means staff must be trained to use each specific hoist model and sling type they are assigned to operate. Training records must identify the equipment by name or model -- 'hoist training' is not sufficient. When a new hoist model is introduced, retraining is required before staff use it with residents.
A LOLER register should list every item of lifting equipment with: unique asset ID, equipment type and model, location, SWL, date of last thorough examination, certificate reference number, and next examination due date. The register must be kept current -- when a new item is added or an item is decommissioned, the register is updated immediately. Any item with an overdue examination date should be flagged and removed from service in the register.
CareHomeDesk gives you compliance checklists, maintenance logs, and contractor management tools built around exactly this kind of knowledge.