Hi Guys I have been contacted by a care home in Scotland that has been told by the Care Commission that it is health and safety law that the emergency cords suspended from the ceiling in disabled toilets need to have the end of the cord laying on the floor. Is this the case and if so what legislation would apply here. Never heard of this before but I thought that some of you guys in the care industry might be able to shed some light on this Regards Robert Paterson

Try these people. The following is lifted from a DDA guide checklist. Do you have an assistance alarm within the accessible W.C & does it work? Yes /No Check that the toilets meet recommended specifications - contact Inclusion Tel 07812034533

There is a clear authoritative reference to emergency pull cords in Building Regs Approved Doc M. Doc M refers to emergency pull cords and requires that they are fitted with two visual markers one at 800-1000mm above floor level and another at 100mm above floor level. There is nothing about leaving anything trailing on the floor! It seems unlikely that there is any standard that requires this. Hygiene and trip hazards spring to mind. But as they say 'never say never'. Is it a case that they found the cord strung over something rather than hanging loose from the ceiling fixing? They very often are and that might explain why they have drawn attention to it.

10mark. B.S. 8300 will also probably have something in it but I don't have access to it in order to confirm this. Perhaps someone with access to the standard will confirm or correct? p48

Just for the joust - Part M can be superceded by any Building Control person who approves a lower stand than the document basic requirements. - Fact But yes the cord should normally clear the floor by 100mm after all think about what happens to floors and who wants then to handle the soaked cord. Question the CQC person and challenge the points

Please refer to :- BS 8300:2009--Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people – Code of practice. Clause 12.2 refers to General recommendations for sanitary accommodation Sub clause 12.2.8 refers to Emergency assistance alarm and it requires amonst other aspects, a pull cord should be reachable from changing or shower seats, from the WC and from the floor....... Sub -clause 12.6.8 refers to Emergency assistance and it requires amonst other aspects, the emergency assistance pull cord should be sited so that it can be operated from the WC and from an adjacent floor area. I very much doubt that there are prescriptive requirements in the legislation, but most of the legislation is underpinned by reference to codes of practice, standards etc.

“BS 8300:9.3.7.2 An emergency assistance pull cord, coloured red, should be provided with two red bangles of 50 mm diameter, one set at a height between 800 mm and 1000 mm and the other set at 100 mm above floor level.” Cheers

My understanding of the 100mm from the floor is to allow for the cord not to be on the floor in case of spillage and to allow cleaning to take place without the cord becoming contaminated. As BobL states the CQC inspector is lacking in their knowledge which is a bit worrying when one of their remits is infection control standards. Challenge the inspector and if not successful raise the matter with their manager. Take care John C