UKAS slip testing for
care homes.

Why care homes commission UKAS accredited slip testing

Care home residents are disproportionately exposed to slip injury — reduced mobility, medication effects, and cognitive impairment all increase fall risk. CQC inspects care homes against fall-prevention frameworks and documented slip-resistance evidence is part of the audit trail. UKAS accredited testing supports both CQC compliance and incident defence.

Specific issues we see in care homes

• Resident bathroom floors. Wet-floor design must balance slip resistance for mobile residents with wheelchair trafficability. Testing with Slider 55 against barefoot thresholds.
• Corridor thresholds. Transition between rooms — often different flooring specs meeting at a junction. Worth specific testing.
• Dining and communal rooms. Spillage, food debris, mop-up regimes. Wet PTV with representative contamination.
• Outdoor garden and patio areas. Resident-accessed outdoor spaces with seasonal weather exposure. Often overlooked in care home safety audits.

Which standards apply

BS EN 16165 Annex C for general pedestrian areas. Annex B (barefoot with Slider 55) for bathroom and wet-floor areas. Interpretation accounts for vulnerable-user profile — PTV 36 baseline may be insufficient for areas with predominantly elderly or mobility-impaired residents.

What you get

• UKAS accredited pendulum test report (Lab 7933)
• PTV results for every test location, dry and wet
• Interpretation against BS EN 16165 and UKSRG benchmarks
• Photographic record of test locations
• Measurement uncertainty statements (required for admissibility)
• 5 working day turnaround from site visit to report

Common questions

Does CQC require slip testing?

CQC does not mandate specific slip testing but does inspect against fall-prevention frameworks that include surface risk management. UKAS evidence is part of a defensible audit trail.

After a resident slip — how urgent?

Call us same-day. Post-incident testing for vulnerable users is a priority.

Care group with multiple homes?

Multi-home estate audits are common — typically 3-5 homes per visit, scheduled in regional batches.

What about hospice environments?

Same approach. Hospice facilities are testing-compatible and we work sensitively around resident presence.