CareHomeDeskCareHomeDeskIf your plant room contains a calorifier, pressurised hot water vessel or steam plant, PSSR 2000 applies. The written scheme of examination is the central requirement -- without it, you are in breach from the moment the system operates.
The Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR) apply to pressurised systems containing relevant fluid (steam or fluid above its boiling point, or a gas dissolved in a liquid) where the pressure is above 0.5 bar gauge. In practice, the most common pressure systems in care homes are: calorifiers (pressurised hot water storage cylinders), pressurised primary heating circuits, and, less commonly, steam plant. A standard unvented hot water cylinder above 15 litres is also subject to PSSR requirements.
The central requirement of PSSR is a written scheme of examination for every pressure system. The scheme must be prepared by a competent person before the system is first operated (or before PSSR came into force for existing systems). It must describe: the system boundary, the items to be examined, the nature of the examination, the examination intervals, and the action to take if a defect is found. Operating a pressure system without a written scheme is an immediate breach of Regulation 8 -- not a minor administrative gap, but a criminal offence.
The written scheme sets the interval for periodic examinations. For calorifiers, this is typically every 14 months in practice, though the scheme may set a shorter interval for older or higher-risk plant. The examination must be carried out by a competent person -- typically a specialist engineering inspector from an insurance body or independent inspection organisation. The examination report must be provided within 28 days and must state whether the system is safe to operate and what (if any) repairs are required.
Safety valves are a critical component of pressure system protection and must be included in the written scheme and examined at the specified interval. A safety valve that has never been tested is a common finding on care home plant. Pressure gauges must be maintained to allow operating pressure to be verified -- an inaccurate gauge means the operator cannot confirm the system is within safe operating limits.
Retain the written scheme, all examination reports, maintenance records and any certificates of repair permanently -- or until the system is decommissioned and for two years afterwards. On a CQC property inspection or HSE visit, the responsible person should be able to produce these documents for every pressure system on site. Keep them in the plant room alongside the system's operating instructions.
CareHomeDesk gives you compliance checklists, maintenance logs, and contractor management tools built around exactly this kind of knowledge.