Who can carry out a LOLER inspection and Annual Service on your patient lifting equipment?

Understanding Your Responsibilities

If you work in an industry that requires LOLER inspections and servicing, the regulations can seem confusing. You might ask:

• Can my in-house maintenance team carry out LOLER inspections?

• Can my service and maintenance provider perform them?

• Should my insurance provider handle inspections?

• What basic maintenance checks can I do myself?

Medaco has provided patient handling equipment services since 1998. We often get these questions and want to clarify the regulations to help you stay compliant.

Check out this blog post to see what equipment falls under LOLER regulations.

Who can carry out a LOLER Inspection?

LOLER requires a thorough examination by a competent person. This person must also be sufficiently independent and impartial to make objective decisions.

A competent person, according to LOLER’s Approved Code of Practice and Guidance (Regulation 9), is someone with the skills, experience, and knowledge to:

• Examine equipment thoroughly
• Detect defects or weaknesses
• Assess the safety and continued use of lifting equipment

Independence and impartiality mean the examiner is separate from the company that owns the equipment and has no personal interest in keeping faulty equipment in use.

Your service and maintenance provider usually meets these criteria, as they gain nothing by passing unsafe equipment.

If the same person maintains and inspects the equipment, the regulations require a risk assessment. This assessment should explain how you decided who performs inspections, ensuring the person remains competent and impartial.

Your provider can therefore perform both LOLER inspections and servicing, as long as this risk assessment exists. Some care operators prefer separate engineers for inspections and service, which is also acceptable.

Insurance providers can also conduct LOLER inspections if included in your policy. They provide independent, competent assessments and pass any issues to your service provider for action.

Who Can Carry Out an Annual Service?

PUWER states that maintenance work must be done by competent personnel who have received proper information, instruction, and training.

For high-risk or complex equipment in care settings, maintenance must be completed by the manufacturer or authorized contractors.

Manufacturers typically provide guidance on maintenance in the equipment’s user manual.

Read more: The difference between LOLER inspections and Annual Service

Don’t Forget Basic Maintenance Checks

Even between planned preventive maintenance (PPM) visits, care and maintenance teams should perform basic checks to extend equipment lifespan.

Medaco offers simple maintenance tips, including videos and downloadable posters, to help your team maintain patient handling equipment safely.

How Medaco Can Help

If you’re unsure about regulations or how they affect your business, Medaco can advise you. Our fully trained engineers perform thorough examinations and service patient lifting equipment in care homes, hospitals, and SEND schools.

We handle equipment from various manufacturers, ensuring PPM, LOLER inspections, and annual service are done safely and efficiently.