What care homes need to know about LOLER and PUWER inspections
In a care home, hoists, slings, stairlifts and platform lifts fall under LOLER 1998 and need thoroughly examining at least every 6 months. Profiling beds and bed rails fall under PUWER instead, with intervals set by risk assessment rather than a fixed schedule. CQC inspectors expect to see current, in-date certificates for all of it.
Key points:
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People-lifting equipment (hoists, slings, stairlifts, platform lifts): LOLER, examined every 6 months
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Other equipment (profiling beds, bed rails): PUWER, examined on an interval set by risk assessment
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Responsibility sits with the registered provider or manager - it can't be handed to a maintenance contractor
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CQC inspectors expect to see current thorough examination certificates, not just maintenance records
Care home equipment at a glance
Why CQC inspectors care about this
This isn't just a health and safety matter - it's a CQC compliance one too. Regulation 12(2)(e) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 requires that "the equipment used by the service provider for providing care or treatment to a service user is safe for such use and is used in a safe way." Under CQC's Single Assessment Framework, equipment safety is exactly the kind of evidence inspectors look for under the "Safe" key question - a current thorough examination certificate is straightforward proof; a missing or expired one is an easy finding against you.
Slings need their own examination - not just the hoist
One of the most commonly missed requirements: a sling is a lifting accessory in its own right under LOLER, not simply a hoist attachment. It needs its own 6-month thorough examination even if the hoist it's used with was checked recently. Labelling each sling with its own ID makes this far easier to track once you have more than one or two in use.
Profiling beds, bed rails and other work equipment
A profiling bed's tilting and height-adjustment functions aren't its principal purpose the way lifting is for a hoist, so it typically sits under PUWER rather than LOLER. That means no fixed 6-month rule - instead, how often it needs checking is worked out from a risk assessment based on how it's used. It still needs to be safe and properly maintained; it's just assessed on a different basis. The same applies to bed rails.
Common issues found during care home examinations
The registered provider or manager holds the responsibility to fix these issues, as the employer of the staff who operate the equipment. That duty doesn't transfer to whoever services or maintains the equipment, and it's a separate obligation from the servicing itself. It's also worth knowing that HSE guidance advises against the same company both maintaining and thoroughly examining the same equipment, since they'd effectively be assessing their own work. See why independent examination matters.
What's included in every PULO report
A full written Report of Thorough Examination for each item: whether it's safe to continue in use, any defects found - split into safety-critical, with a repair deadline, and other - and the date the next examination is due. See exactly what one looks like on our sample report page.
