Posted By Corrina Evans A bit of advice appreciated here please. We have long term patients (mainly elderly) who use their mobiles whilst staying in what can be long term rehab. As a result they are plugging in their mobile phone chargers into our mains, so the question is do we have to PAT test,do a visual check or something else? I have checked out 'Health and Safety in Care Homes' HSG220 which says some equipment belonging to service users may also need to be inspected... there should always be an initial visual check when items are first brought into the premises. Are mobile phone chargers included in this and if so, who should be carrying out the visual check? Thanks in advance Corrina

Posted By Robert. You can also check out the HSE myth index www.hse.gov.uk/myth/index

Posted By Robert. Interesting view Marcus. Aren't you taking on a responsibility of ownership here? If an item is passed as "safety checked", is handed back to the rightful owner and then fails to operate, or appears to have been damaged whislt in the hands of an examiner,who is liable? Phone chargers need only be visually examined for obvious signs of damage like most office type equipment.

Posted By Marcus74 Hi Robert Its an interesting point that you have made that will need to be considered. In short we PAT test ALL portable appliances in our business instead of picking and choosing between full test and visual inspection only, so im not too clear on the specific requirement that a mobile phone charger would only require a minimum visual inspection although im sure the low output voltage may have something to do with it. To answer the original posters question, I believe that any personal item brought into a company and used on the premises is subject to the same safety tests as the equipment owned by the employer. A quick google found this link that's along the same lines. http://www.essential-ele...rvices.co.uk/patfaq.html

Posted By MT This document is particularly useful in determining inspection and testing requirements for low-risk equipment such as mobile phone chargers: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg236.pdf

Posted By Tony Priest I must agree with most of the responses here relating to the advice that this equipment may not require PAT. What must be considered here (like all H&S hazards) is the fact that these are being used in a care home with mainly elderly patients. Corrina, what may be beneficial here is their correct use, for example, not being left plugged into the socket overnight or for long periods (more so without the phone connected and the power on) this equipment may present a fire hazard. Sorry to go off topic a bit but... I recently seen a some photographs of electrical items that started fires, a phone charger was one and an electrical air freshener another. Just a thought.

Posted By Jane Young A solution to the problem of charging mobiles in care homes/hospitals is ChargeBox, a machine for recharging mobile phones, iPods and games consoles inside secure lockers (www.chargebox.com). There are two models: one which accepts payment (e.g. £1 for 40 mins charging time) and a free-to-use model. This stops health and safety issues around trailing wires, absence of PAT testing, security when leaving devices plugged in unsupervised etc.

Posted By Jay Joshi So what do organisations that require blanket PAT testing of ALL portable equipment do with visitors, Yes of visitors to office based areas ( I am not referring to higher risk construction site type equipment, but charger/adaptor units for laptop PC's and mobile phones who arrive with adaptors and similar--)do you stop them from using their equipment if it is not PAT tested ?? And what happens after the PAT test until the next one is due?? Visual examination is a better option. The primary risk is not electrocution, (as these chargers tend to be double insulated and the HSE advice is that you do not require PAT testing of double insulated equipment!) but of fire caused by a fault in the transformer/other parts! It also depends upon the type of fuses/circuit breakers you have in the premises--how effectively will the supply be cut off if current is overdrawn. Refer to:- http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg236.pdf

Posted By Ian Gardner "I would like anyone on this post to explain how they intend to test a mobile phone charger?" Depending on the connector, a test could be possible. Many chargers, such as Nokia-style ones, have barrel plugs, which would count as 'exposed conductive parts'. So therefore, that is where you could clip your test lead, and perform a Class II Insulation Resistance test, or a Class II Substitute Leakage test, or a Class II Touch Current test. Obviously, if the charger had a connector that no exposed conductors, then these tests would not be possible. *Any electrical tests should only be performed after the appliance has passed a visual inspection* "... only a moulded transformer..." Not always moulded. Sealed: yes, mostly, but some still with empty space inside. Internal components can become dislodged, depending on the amount of abuse that charger has taken. I have seen Class II chargers, and other similar plug-in power adaptors, pass a visual, but fail an insulation test because if this (none of us have X-ray vision!). "Conclusion - You do not PAT test mobile phone chargers - visual only." Well, no. In some situations, the electrical tests may be considered to not be required. Other situations they may be needed. It all depends on the conclusions of the RA that has been carried out. My main point being that you CAN perform electrical tests on (some) phone chargers, if neccessary. "The actual document that needs to be consulted is the IEE code of practice for in service inspection and testing of electrical equipment which clearly states on page 13 ALL class 2 equipment in hotels, offices and shops only needs a formal visual inspection every 24 months, no Combined inspection is required." The table in the IEE CoP that you refer to is 'Suggested Initial Frequency of Inspection & Testing of Equipment'. Notice the words 'suggested' and 'initial'. It also clearly states that intervals between checks, inspections & tests must be kept under review, particularly until patterns of failure/damage, if any, are determined, which also ties in with the RA. So yes, in general terms, Class II equipment in most hotels, offices & shops may not need testing, just visual inpections. But this doesn't mean there won't be exceptions, which should be identified through assessment. And if the assessment requires it, most Class II appliances can be electrically tested, or 'PAT tested'.