Passenger lifts in care homes are subject to both LOLER 1998 (six-monthly thorough examination) and PSSR 2000 (written scheme of examination for hydraulic systems). Many care home lift service contracts provide maintenance only without the mandatory statutory examination that these regulations require.
Why this matters
A lift that has been serviced but not formally examined under LOLER is not compliant. If a resident is injured in a lift that lacks a current LOLER certificate, the operator is in breach. CQC inspectors increasingly ask to see lift examination certificates as part of the Regulation 15 evidence review.
What to do
- 1Check your lift service contract explicitly: does it include the six-monthly LOLER thorough examination, or maintenance only? These are different obligations.
- 2Confirm your lift engineer is from an accredited engineering inspection body not all lift service companies carry the accreditation needed to issue LOLER examination certificates.
- 3For hydraulic lifts, confirm a written scheme of examination under PSSR 2000 is in place and the system has been examined within the scheme specified interval.
- 4Retain all LOLER certificates and examination reports in your compliance evidence file not just the service records.
Primary source
HSE Lifts: Thorough Examination and Testing
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