Checklist for Households Using Medical Equipment

If someone in your household depends on electricity for their health, a power cut is a different kind of event. Ventilators, oxygen concentrators, electric wheelchairs, hoists, communication devices and feeding pumps can all stop working when the supply fails¹. The single most useful thing you can do is make a plan now with your care provider or clinical care team, setting out what you or the person you care for needs to do and who to contact if the power goes off².

Alongside that plan, join your network operator's Priority Services Register, which gives advance notice of planned power cuts wherever possible and additional support during an unplanned one³. Keep a backup power supply if you can, tell carers what the plan is, and have essential supplies ready⁵. And because equipment can fail for reasons other than the power, check regularly whether anything you rely on has been recalled⁶.

The checklist: medical equipment and power cuts

Work through this list once, then review it whenever equipment changes or a new carer comes on board. Each item has a few words on why it matters.

1. Make a written plan with your care team. Agree what action you or the person you care for needs to take and who to contact if there is a power outage².
2. Understand how your equipment works. Ask your care provider, clinical care team or equipment supplier for enough information to understand the equipment and what to do if the power is disrupted¹⁰.
3. Join the Priority Services Register. It gives advance notice of scheduled power cuts wherever possible, plus additional support during a cut and priority support in an emergency in England, Wales and Scotland³.
4. Get a backup power supply if possible. Tell your carers it exists and where it is kept⁵.
5. Have backup power checked and maintained by a competent person. Do this regularly, and speak to your medical equipment or healthcare provider now if you are concerned⁷.
6. Keep essential supplies to hand. If you get notice of a power cut, collect everything you will need for the predicted outage¹¹.
7. Tell your supplier about your situation. Let them know if you have a disability, are chronically sick, or depend on a continuous supply for medical or mobility equipment such as stair lifts and hoists¹².
8. Check your equipment for recall notices. Use the Government's product recall site, the manufacturer's website or Electrical Safety First's recall register⁶.
9. Keep your equipment details written down. Make, model and serial number, so a recall check or a call to the supplier is quick.
10. Know who to call. Ring 105 to report a power cut, and call 999 in an emergency⁸.

What to sort out with your care team before anything happens

The plan is the foundation, and it is not something you can improvise during an outage. Government guidance is direct: if you use medical equipment that requires a power supply, make a plan with your care provider or clinical care team now, and the plan should set out what action you or someone you care for needs to take and who to contact if there is a power outage². Ask the same people, or your equipment supplier, to give you enough information to understand how the equipment works and what to do if there is a power disruption¹⁰.

Some households need more than a plan. Northern Powergrid's guidance says customers who require a continuous supply of electricity for medical reasons and would need medical support during a power cut should seek advice from their local health service provider⁷. That is the right first call if you are unsure whether your equipment can safely be without power at all.

It also helps to know what a power cut looks like in practice. Cuts can occur from time to time during a typical year, including during severe weather, for regular maintenance, or because of damage and other routine faults¹³. They are not only a winter storm event, so the plan needs to work at any time of year.

Joining the registers that get you noticed

There are two separate things to do, and households often do only one. The first is the Priority Services Register run by your energy supplier and network operator. It is for customers who might be more vulnerable in a power cut, such as those who use medical or mobility equipment, have a disability, are over 65, or have children under five¹¹. In England, Wales and Scotland it gives additional support during a power cut, advance notice of scheduled power cuts wherever possible, and priority support in an emergency³. Ofgem explains how to join your supplier's register¹⁴.

The second is your network operator's own medical or care register, which is how the people who actually fix the wires know who you are. Northern Powergrid advises people using electrically powered medical equipment to get a backup power supply if possible, join its free Priority Services Membership, inform carers and prepare essential supplies³. UK Power Networks asks households with any medical equipment that relies on electricity to join its Priority Register¹⁵.

Arrangements differ across the UK. In Northern Ireland, NIE Networks runs a Customer Care Register for customers who rely on electricity for healthcare needs, including those with medical equipment such as specialised mattresses, feeding systems or lifting equipment at home¹⁶. Registered customers are contacted regularly during a power cut with up-to-date information to help them make alternative arrangements, contact their health professional or call 999¹⁶. NIE Networks will also give notice in advance of planned interruptions¹⁷.

Check your equipment for product recall notices

Equipment that keeps someone alive or mobile has to be safe as well as working. Manufacturers issue product recall notices if an electrical appliance could develop a fault, including a risk of electric shock or fire⁶. The fire and rescue service is blunt about the priority: the most important thing you can do is to regularly check if your appliances have been recalled¹⁸.

There are three places to check, and it is worth using more than one. The Government's product recall site, the manufacturer's own website, and Electrical Safety First's recall register all carry recall information¹⁸. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) also issues product recall notices, and you can contact the retailer where you purchased the product¹⁹. If an appliance is not listed as recalled it should be safe to use, but if you have concerns about its safety, contact the retailer or manufacturer⁶.

Recall notices are not only about electrical faults. Food recalls work the same way, with point of sale notices displayed where the products were sold explaining the recall and what to do, and allergy support organisations telling their members²⁰. The principle is the same for equipment: the notice tells you what is wrong, which items are affected, and what to do next.

Keeping your equipment's details ready for a recall check

A recall check is only as fast as the information you can put your hands on. Before you need it, write down the make, model and serial number of every powered item you rely on, and keep the paperwork with your care plan. That way a check against the manufacturer's website or Electrical Safety First's register is a quick job rather than an evening of peering at labels¹⁸.

Registering appliances is the other half of the job. The Register My Appliance service lets you register appliances and get a notification if a product gets recalled²². Registration means the maker contacts you rather than you having to remember to look. The same approach applies to other powered items in the home: the fire and rescue service advises checking any products you have bought are not subject to a product recall, using Electrical Safety First's website or the government website¹⁸.

Backup power needs the same discipline as the equipment it supports. Backup power supplies and associated equipment should be regularly checked and maintained by a competent person, and if you are concerned, speak to your medical equipment or healthcare provider as soon as possible²³. A battery that has sat unused for two years is not a plan.

Electrical faults: what to look for and what to do

Faults do not always announce themselves with a bang. The fire and rescue service advises checking all appliances, plugs, sockets and leads for damage such as scorch marks or exposed wiring, and replacing anything damaged²¹. It also says to always use the correct fuse, always buy approved chargers, and switch appliances off at night or when leaving home unless they are designed to be left on, such as fridges and freezers²¹. Charging devices on flammable surfaces such as bedding is a known fire risk²¹.

The Health and Safety Executive sets out what electricity can do. The main hazards of working with electricity are electric shock and burns from contact with live parts, injury from exposure to arcing when electricity jumps from one circuit to another, fire from faulty electrical equipment or installations, explosion caused by unsuitable electrical apparatus, and static electricity igniting flammable vapours or dusts²³. It adds that cables, plugs, sockets and fittings must be robust enough and adequately protected for the working environment, and that machinery should have an accessible switch or isolator to cut the power quickly in an emergency²³.

If you spot damaged or dangerous electrical equipment, including during or after a power cut, report the problem, but call 999 in an emergency²⁴. For a power cut itself, ring 105 or use the Powercut 105 website to find your supplier and report it⁸.

When the power goes: what to do on the night

If you have done the preparation, the night itself is about following the plan rather than inventing one. Turn off any appliances that may be a fire risk if they switch on when the power comes back, such as hair dryers or electric hobs²⁶. Keep torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essentials where you can find them in the dark²⁷. The Met Office lists candles and matches or lighters, torches and batteries, and a mobile phone power pack among the essentials that could help you cope with a power cut²⁸.

Keep in touch. If you do not have a mobile or live somewhere with no signal, your landline provider should offer you a solution such as a battery back-up unit so you can still make emergency calls during a power cut²⁸. Report the cut on 105⁹.

Ask for help if you need it. Checking up on relatives or neighbours who might need help during a power cut is part of community emergency planning guidance²⁹, and network operators ask households to check on elderly or sick neighbours and relatives²⁵. If you are the one who needs checking, make sure a neighbour knows your plan and can knock.

Where to get help

Start with the people who know your equipment: your care provider, clinical care team or equipment supplier¹⁰. If you need medical support during a power cut, seek advice from your local health service provider⁷. For the supply itself, ring 105 to report a power cut, and call 999 in an emergency⁸.

For ongoing support, join the Priority Services Register through your supplier¹⁴, and your network operator's medical register⁵. In Northern Ireland, join the NIE Networks Customer Care Register¹⁸. If you are registering on someone else's behalf, the operator will tell you what it needs.

Finally, keep the plan alive. Review it when equipment changes, when a new carer starts, and at the start of each winter. A plan that was right two years ago may not match the equipment in the house today.