General Policy
Estates, Facilities and Capital Services
GP/E3
Estates Manager - Compliance
Electrical Safety Group, Head of Estates
Director of Property & Asset Management
01 January 2006
01 August 2024
01 August 2027
5.7

GENERAL NOTE

NHS Fife acknowledges and agrees with the importance of regular and timely reviews of policy statements and aims to review policies within the timescale set out.

New policies will be subject to a review date of no more than 1 year from the date of the first issue. Reviewed policies will have a review date set that is relevant to the content (advised by the author) but will be no longer than 3 years.

If the policy is past its review date, then the content will remain extant until such time as the policy review is complete and the new version published.

1. FUNCTION

 

  • NHS Fife takes the health, safety, and welfare of its entire staff seriously and is of prime importance, which is to be given equal priority with other business and operating objectives and will, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure that the electrical safety of employees, patients and other persons is not adversely affected by any of NHS Fife’s operational activities.
  • NHS Fife recognises that the lowest acceptable standards of electrical safety are contained in legislation, and it is the aim of NHS Fife to improve upon these standards. This policy is to ensure the provision and maintenance of safe electrical equipment which is insulated, earthed, or otherwise suitably protected, thereby ensuring the safety of the users and others within the vicinity of use.
  • NHS Fife propose to continue to promote and develop a pro-active electrical safety regime by providing information, training, and instruction for all employees, together with safe workplace procedures and rigorous maintenance routines for all electrical equipment.
  • The effectiveness of the electrical safety policy and associated procedures depends to a large extent on the full co-operation and active participation of all employees to implement safe working practices and to report on any perceived risk of danger arising from the use of the electrical system or equipment.

2. LOCATION

2.1 This Policy is applicable to all NHS Fife owned premises, those where NHS Fife services are delivered or where electrical equipment, belonging to NHS Fife, is being used.

2.2 The management and maintenance of Lifts and Medical Equipment are out with the scope of this policy or the associated procedures.

3. RESPONSIBILITY

3.1 Chief Executive

The Chief Executive of NHS Fife has overall executive responsibility for ensuring that effective arrangements are in place to manage all safety, health and risk matters within NHS Fife. This responsibility has been delegated to an appropriate senior manager, the Director of Property & Asset Management, but the Chief Executive remains accountable to the Board.

3.2 The Director of Property & Asset Management is the Executive Lead for Health and Safety and is responsible for:

  • Making sure that the Board regularly reviews the effectiveness of this policy and by considering NHS guidance, that the policy continues to meet legislative requirements.

3.3 Director of Property & Asset Management

Through the Head of Estates is responsible for ensuring:

  • The implementation and management of the policy and associated procedures across NHS Fife.
  • That NHS Fife staff are aware of and have access to the policy and associated procedures.
  • That NHS Fife staff understand the importance of compliance with the procedures associated with this policy.
  • That staff receive training commensurate with their role and responsibilities.
  • That all fixed electrical systems and equipment is managed and maintained within NHS Fife premises.

3.4 Departmental Managers

  • Making sure that all staff are aware of this policy.
  • Providing resources for putting the policy into practice.
  • Keeping suitable records and management of personal electrical items.
  • Where Departmental Managers have control of any leased premises out with the control of the Property & Asset Management Team, they should ensure all electrical safety documentation is received from the landlord and forwarded to the Estates Dept.

3.5 Members of Staff 

NHS Fife regards electrical safety as a responsibility of every employee, to safeguard themselves, their colleagues, and other persons within the sphere of NHS Fife’s interests. They are responsible for:

  • Taking reasonable care of themselves and others who may be affected by their actions.
  • Co-operating by following rules and procedures designed for safe working with electricity.
  • Reporting all incidents that may affect the health and safety of themselves or others and asking for guidance as appropriate.
  • Reporting any risks, they identify or any concerns they might have with electrical systems, plant or equipment or work tasks associated with the systems, plant or equipment.
  • Taking part in training designed to meet the requirements of the policy

4. OPERATIONAL SYSTEM

4.1 Installation

4.1.1 All new fixed electrical systems and equipment must be checked and tested for electrical safety by a competent person before being put into use. This may be carried out by an approved electrical contractor (those who are registered with the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting or a member of the Electrical Contractors Association) or an electrician from the Estates Department (who has gained the City & Guild 2391 or 2394/2395 qualification).

4.2 Inspection and Testing

4.2.1 All fixed electrical plant and installation(s) must be routinely inspected and tested, in accordance with current legislation and good electrical practice. Testing of electrical installations will be the responsibility of the Estates Department and only up to the point of isolation, e.g. specialist fixed and/or medical equipment, e.g. MRI scanners etc will not be tested, and the responsibility for the maintenance of this equipment will be with the user and managed under a service and maintenance contract with the manufacturer or suitably competent contractor.

4.3 Portable Appliance Testing (see appendix 1)

4.3.1 All ‘portable’ equipment i.e. that is connected to the electricity supply with a plug, must be inspected and\or tested at installation and thereafter at appropriate intervals (this frequency is determined by a process of risk assessment based on the type of use and the environment). Records of this inspection and\or testing must be made and kept. The Estates Department will manage this service for NHS Fife owned equipment. (See Appendix 1 – Controlling the risk and Frequency of examinations, for further guidance)

4.3.2 Prior to use, users must carry out a visual check and report any perceived defect. (See Appendix 1 - User checks).

4.3.3 After the recorded check, and repair, if necessary, the checker must attach to the equipment a label saying Tested for Electrical Safety and insert the date that it was tested and next test date.

4.3.4 The appropriate manager from each area of NHS Fife must ensure that a comprehensive list of portable electrical equipment is kept, updated and available at time of inspection and that staff which they are responsible for, do not bring in personal items of electrical equipment.

4.3.5 No person shall use an item of electrical equipment unless it bears a label indicating a current pass status of safety inspection as issued by the Estates Department, its nominated contractor, or in the case of specialist medical electrical equipment, Medical Physics Staff.

  • Equipment found with no label or is over its test date, should not under normal circumstances be used. Should the need arise to use such an item of equipment in an emergency; the user of the equipment will:
  • Visually check the equipment for any safety concerns and;
  • Determine if the risk is acceptable.

The Department Manager must then contact the Estates Help Desk and arrange to have the equipment tested at the earliest opportunity.

4.4 Use (General)

Those in charge of work involving the use of electricity must:

  • Ensure that the equipment is safe to use and adequately maintained.
  • Ensure that those under their supervision are fully informed, instructed and, if necessary, trained in the safe operation of the equipment.
  • Ensure that measures are in place to prevent the use of defective equipment.

4.5 Training

4.5.1 Training is an essential element of safe working practice, and all staff must be appropriately trained, prior to being appointed or instructed to undertake any of the defined operational roles and responsibilities detailed in appendix 2 – Defined roles and responsibilities - overview.

4.5.2 The training of an individual, which can be by formal education and by on-the-job tuition, as appropriate. The trained individual is to be assessed for suitability by the person responsible for the appointment of the individual to a particular duty.

4.5.3 Examination of each person’s training record is to be included in the procedures review process and where necessary, periodic retraining is to be arranged to cover the technical aspects, electrical safety and first aid matters, as appropriate for each individual’s duties.

4.6 Incident Reporting

4.6.1 Any incident which involves the electrical system, and which compromises safety must be reported, in the first instance to the Estates Department, who will inform the Authorised Person for the system. The Authorised Person for the system will determine what action is to be taken to prevent any risk or danger arising from the reported equipment.

4.6.2 All reported incidents are to be investigated and a written record of the incident and action taken is to be filed in the system logbook and the operational procedures manual. A Datix entry will also be required.

4.6.3 The reporting of injuries or dangerous occurrences under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), will be acted upon, by the Health and Safety Department upon completion of the required Datix notification.

4.7 Review

4.7.1 This Electrical Safety Policy and Procedures are to be formally reviewed periodically by the NHS Fife Electrical Safety Group and an agreed minute of the review is to be retained and copies distributed to all Authorised Persons for inclusion in the operational manuals.

5. RISK MANAGEMENT

The key risks involved in implementation of this policy are:

  • Lack of staff awareness of this policy, resulting in non-compliance.
  • Lack of robust organisational arrangements around policy implementation.
  • Failure to implement and maintain the required procedures associated with the policy.

 6. RELATED DOCUMENTS

This section details the documentation relating to this Electrical Safety Policy. It is recommended that this document is read in conjunction with the following:

7. REFERENCES

7.1 Statute, Legal and Guidance

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Available online at www.legislation.gov.uk

Safe use of work equipment, Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, Approved Code of Practice, Regulations and Guidance. L22.

Electricity at Work, Safe working practices. HSG 85.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Guidance on Regulations. HSR25.

Maintaining portable electrical equipment. HSG107.

Available online at HSE: Information about health and safety at work

7.2 NHS Requirements

NHS Scotland has published Scottish Health Technical Memoranda (SHTM) which contain policy and procedural guidance.