PAT Testing for Healthcare & Medical Practices in the North East

Healthcare environments rely on a wide range of electrical equipment used daily by clinical and non-clinical staff. Faulty equipment can present a serious risk to patient safety, staff welfare and service continuity.

As a healthcare provider or practice manager, you have a legal duty to ensure that electrical equipment is safe for use and properly maintained. PAT testing is the recognised method of demonstrating that portable electrical appliances have been inspected and tested as part of your electrical safety management system.

Regular PAT testing helps healthcare providers:

• Reduce the risk of electrical shock or fire
• Protect patients, staff and visitors
• Demonstrate compliance during inspections
• Maintain clear, auditable safety records

We regularly provide PAT Testing for:

• GP surgeries and medical practices
• Dental practices
• Private clinics and treatment rooms
• Physiotherapy and rehabilitation centres
• Community healthcare facilities
• Occupational health providers

Our service is suitable for both NHS-affiliated and private healthcare settings.

✔ Visual inspection of all portable electrical equipment
✔ Electrical safety testing where required
✔ Free replacement of standard plugs & fuses
✔ Clear pass / fail labelling with unique ID numbers
✔ Fully itemised digital PAT Testing Certificate (PDF)
✔ Same-day reports available where required
✔ Practical advice on retest periods and equipment use

Typical equipment tested includes:

• IT equipment and monitors
• Diagnostic and non-invasive medical equipment
• Sterilisation and cleaning equipment (portable items)
• Staff appliances and chargers
• Extension leads and power adaptors

PAT testing with minimal disruption

We understand that healthcare environments need to remain calm, safe and operational at all times. Our engineers work efficiently and professionally, coordinating with practice managers to minimise disruption.

We can:

• Work around appointment schedules
• Prioritise non-clinical areas first
• Attend outside of peak patient hours
• Plan testing to suit your practice layout

This ensures compliance without interrupting patient care.

We find that with a bit of careful joint management we can organise a system of minimal disruption. Once the job is booked in, you can organise a route plan of surgery rooms. We need a max 15 minutes in each room (assuming one desk per room). Then we can work room to room. The only complication here is – you need to make sure the doctors leave their room promptly, or it messes up the plan.

We can also start before you open to get the reception done. We can actually start as early as 6am if it helps you.

We work with hundreds of doctors, dentists, vets, etc and this system works perfectly for all.

We can come to see you before doing the job to discuss a plan, or do it by telephone.

Where documentation is required urgently — for inspections, audits or insurer requests — we can often issue same-day digital PAT Testing Certificates, subject to availability.

Certificates are provided as PDFs and are suitable for:

• Practice compliance records
• Inspections and audits
• Insurer requirements

For new clients, payment is required before same-day certificates are issued.

✔ Experienced working in healthcare environments
✔ Qualified, insured engineers
✔ Enhanced DBS-checked staff
✔ CHAS accredited & PATTA members
✔ Clear, professional documentation
✔ Calm, respectful on-site approach

We regularly work with:

• Doctors Surgeries
• Dental Practices
• Veterinary Surgeries
• Private Practices
• Care Homes & Supported Living

Is PAT testing required in GP surgeries and clinics?
Healthcare providers must ensure electrical equipment is safe for use. PAT testing is the recognised way to demonstrate this duty of care.

Will PAT testing affect patient appointments?
No — testing can be planned around appointment schedules to minimise disruption.

Are your reports suitable for inspections?
Yes — our certificates are clear, itemised and suitable for audits and inspections.

Facilities including care homes, doctors surgery’s, hospices, veterinary surgeries, home care, dentists, gyms, even shopping centres & workplaces use a variety of electrical equipment that must be tested to a medical standard. Any electrical equipment used during or in the vicinity of the treatment, monitoring or diagnosis of a patient is classed as a medical electronic device. For example: beds, operating tables, infusion pumps, hoists, CPAPs, suction pumps, dentist chairs, heart rate monitor’s and also scales.

Medical devices are identified by the ‘stick man’ symbols shown here:

When these symbols are displayed on the device, caution should be taken.

There are specific devices for testing appliances displaying this symbol, but there are very few PAT testing companies that have them. You may come across them with hospital maintenance teams, but we find that the majority of our clients don’t carry out the full ‘medical device PAT test’ as there is no legal requirement for it, companies to do it are hard to find and thus that do, charge astronomical fees.

The medical standards in the UK are IEC 60601, IEC 62353 & IEC 61010.

Standard PAT testers are not suitable for testing specialist medical or laboratory equipment due to the following reasons:

• Body model – To ensure a standardised method of simulating the impedance of the human body, measurement circuits have been designed to simulate the average, typical electrical characteristics of the human body. These measurement circuits are referred to as a Body Model or Measuring Device. PAT testers do not use the body model specified in IEC 60601.
• Fault conditions – Both IEC 60601 & IEC 62353 require leakage tests to be performed in fault conditions such as earth open, neutral open and reverse supply. Standard PAT testers do not have this functionality.
• Leakage limits – Humans begin to feel current around 1mA but as little as 50µA can affect the organs. PAT testers are not capable of measuring such low currents.

We have been ‘testing’ medical equipment using a standard PAT tester for many years, using this system; We test the detachable power lead independently, and perform a visual inspection on the main device. We advise the client of the importance to get a proper medical PAT test on the device and or calibration if appropriate.

For further information check this CQC page on Portable Appliance Testing and Calibrating Medical Equipment.

PAT testing is farily inobtrusive, and when we work together minimal disruption is guarenteed. We do need to turn equipment off and unplug it to test it but the process is quite quick, so not much downtime. We do repairs as we come across them, so you don’t need to worry about delays due to faults, and every test produces results that are recorded into a fully compliant report which documents every device tested, maintenance and the device location in your premises.

You are legally required to maintain safe electrical equipment for continued use and to prevent danger occuring. In the event of an accident occuring, for an investigation you need to provide evidence that your devices were safe, and that you have done everything you can to ensure this. Regular Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) finds faults and fixes them, ensuring dangers are prevented, and the accompanying report ensures your compliance.

PAT testing should be repeated as often as is necessary to prevent danger occuring. A risk assessment is a good way to work out the risks, which help to determine appropriate frequency. We can also guide you based on our vast experience. Typically, site managers opt for annual PAT tests. With DRA PAT Testing we put you in our reminder system, so when tests are due again we contact you to arrange a retest date.

Assuming you purchased the new appliances from a reputable source, they do not usually require PAT testing immediately, and should be ok to wait until your next scheduled test assuming that is within 12 months of purchase. We do however recommend that the device be visually inspected before use. However, if you are in doubt at all, get it tested, for peace of mind.