When did you last visit your grandparents? If you have trouble remembering, you may want to leave your phone and visit it as soon as possible. The harsh reality is that older generations run a considerably higher risk of electrical hazards and accidents in their homes. Reduce these hazards with landlord Electrical Safety Certificate. This problem is exacerbated by the loneliness and social abandonment that older generations face. Age UK figures tell a bleak story because 3.6 million elderly people live alone and 1.9 million people often feel ignored or invisible.
Figures from the Ministry of the Interior show that in England alone, 1 in 5 accidental electric fires affects people over 65 at home. In addition, 79% were in houses where the resident lived alone.
Older adults who are not monitored or who do not have health care providers are likely to ignore electrical hazards in their own homes. They usually live in older homes that may contain defective electrical appliances and devices, and where electrical checks and inspections are rarely performed. Older people are also often limited by health problems and complications, such as sensory loss and mobility problems, which can make it difficult for them to detect and identify these problems in their homes. Your vulnerability is a risk to your health and your life, but there is a way to help you make a difference.
Here are our 5 best tips on how to protect your older family members from electrical and fire hazards:
Visit more often. This not only gives you the ability to spend quality time with them, but it also gives you the ability to visually inspect the entire home to check if your Electrical Safety Certificate appliances and equipment are in order. Things to watch out for are plugs that are overloaded or visible damage / wear to electrical devices. View our free visual control application for a more detailed checklist to watch out for.
If you encounter defective Electrical Safety Certificate equipment or outdated equipment, you must report this and be prepared to contribute your time and money to repair or replace it. Older houses are often not equipped with high-quality devices such as fire detectors, which means that even warning signs are ignored. Research shows that more than a quarter of home fires with an electrical source involve people older than 65.
To help your older family members better understand the risks they face, take the time to inform them about what they can do for themselves at home. This can be as simple as showing where the fuse box is and how you can navigate through it to show how you can Electrical Safety Certificate replace a lamp.
If you know that you cannot spend time visiting relatives, or if you are confronted with a situation where you cannot check them regularly, it may be worth investing in a care provider who can offer you company and make sure can ensure that the house remains safe For a carer it does not seem a viable option, just asking a few neighbors to visit regularly can sometimes be the difference between life and death.
If you notice an electrical hazard that endangers home life, contact a registered electrician. If the home is more than 50 years old and your electrical systems have not been assessed in the last 10 years, ask the registered electrician to prepare an electrical installation conditions report (EICR). We recommend that you use an electrician who is registered in one of the government approved schemes.
For more information visit Landlord Electrical Safety Certificate
