LIGHTING
High risk areas must provide at least 10% of the required normal maintained illumination and should not be less than 15 lux. The nature of a hospital setting means it is more
likely than is the case for other buildings that there will be occupants who are immobile and therefore cannot evacuate immediately. BS EN 1838:2024 requires dedicated risk assessments to be undertaken. In a hospital environment, estates and facilities professionals will need to liaise with clinical teams in order to understand the nature of those risks and ensure that risks are identified and mitigated adequately. While the new standards do not apply retrospectively
to existing installations, they apply to refurbishments and to new installations. That means luminaires and configurations that would previously have been compliant cannot be assumed to still be so.
Compliance goes beyond luminaires and configurations Illumination and configuration are not the only aspects of compliance that building owners and occupiers need to be aware of. There are further requirements the responsible person must consider. Daily visual inspections for centrally powered systems, monthly short functional tests for every emergency luminaire and an annual full- duration test are required.
A yearly visual inspection of all the luminaires physical
working condition and appearance is also required and must be recorded. This demonstrates that each luminaire can sufficiently operate for the required duration period. BS 1838:2024 now requires a five-year verification lighting level check to ensure the luminaires are achieving the minimum illuminance level and if degradation from pollution and natural lighting source degradation has occurred.
All testing and maintenance must be recorded in the logbook with evidence retained for auditing purposes. A competent person can be nominated by the responsible person to complete these duties. For a large hospital site, ongoing compliance is a substantial undertaking. The labour-intensive requirement to inspect individual luminaires can put significant pressure
on maintenance teams. The sheer volume of luminaires to be inspected also opens up the prospect of human error, with the risk of individual luminaires or even entire sections of buildings being missed.
How to achieve compliance Thankfully, emergency lighting systems have become increasingly sophisticated, with longer battery life, self- testing capabilities and automatic data recording. Indeed, the latest generations of emergency lighting offer digital log-books that provide an accurate and consistent record of testing. This offers both valuable safety benefits and protection for responsible and compliant persons. Luminaires have also become more advanced with the aid of optical lenses focusing the light further along escape routes - reducing the quantity of luminaires required to achieve compliant design schemes. It remains crucial that systems are configured correctly, maintained accordingly, and the responsible and competent person is aware of their responsibilities and duties. Ignorance is not an acceptable excuse if found non-compliant.
Nurses’ station at Grantham Hospital.
March 2026 Health Estate Journal 37
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