It is the responsibility of the owner to ensure regular PAT testing for care homes. To ensure the safety of your residents it is recommended that in addition to Annual PAT testing you should visually inspect all plugs, sockets, casings and cables for any wear or damage.
Similar to hotels, regular PAT testing for care homes is extremely important due to the increased demand for individual devices in multiple rooms. Each resident is likely to have an abundance of personal devices and appliances including device chargers, hair dryers, TV’s, radios and many other items. All of these items would need to be regularly inspected, especially when a new resident arrives.
In some instances care home rooms will have some larger equipment like an orthopaedic bed or bed hoist which will obviously need to be kept in perfect working order to ensure the health and well-being of the residents.
In the care home it is vitally important to ensure that all portable electrical devices and items like microwaves, coffee makers and kettles are checked regularly to identify any damage or wear. Whereas these checks will give you peace of mind that all residents and care home staff are safe it also ensures that these items continue to work correctly and reduces them breaking down at the inconvenience of the residents.
Within a care home there would usually be a communal area that will include electrical items such as televisions and radios. It is very important to get these items check as regularly as the residents personal items because they will generally have a lot more use by more people.
In some circumstances, care homes can also include a hairdressing salon which would have an abundance of electrical items like clippers, hairdryers and that would need to be PAT tested for safety.
