Scalding and Hot Water Safety in Irish Care Homes: HIQA and HSA Guide

In an Irish care home, scalding risk from hot water is governed by two separate sets of rules. For residents in a registered designated centre, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) regulates through the Health Act 2007 regulations and the National Standards. For staff and others at the workplace, the employer duties in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 apply, and we draw on Health and Safety Authority (HSA) guidance below. This guide sets out what the official sources we read actually say about hot water outlets and heating surfaces, and where they say nothing. It starts with the risk assessment that sits under both regimes, which is covered in more detail in our guide to safety statements and risk assessment under the 2005 Act.

Two sets of rules, two groups of people to protect

Keep the regimes separate when you plan your controls.

• HIQA inspects registered designated centres for older people. Its rules protect residents, and they also reach into premises, risk management and incident notification.
• The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 sets employer duties for workplace safety. Its legal basis covers employees and, under section 12, other people at the place of work.

In our view, the same hot water system may fall under both sets of duties. A thermostatic valve that protects a resident in a bath also protects the care assistant running that bath, but the legal route to each duty differs.

What the 2013 Regulations say about anti-scalding protection

The Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 415 of 2013) were given on 29 October 2013 and came into operation on 1 July 2014. The relevant provisions are:

• Regulation 17 (Premises). The registered provider must ensure the premises are appropriate to the number and needs of residents and must provide premises that conform to Schedule 6.
• Schedule 6, Part 3 (Sanitary facilities). Having regard to the number of residents, there must be a sufficient supply of piped hot and cold water "which incorporates thermostatic control valves or other suitable anti-scalding protection". The same wording applies to toilets, wash-basins, baths and showers, including assisted baths and showers, fitted with a hot and cold water supply.
• Schedule 6, Part 1 (General). Premises must be of sound construction and kept in a good state of repair, equipment for residents must be in good working order, and there must be ventilation, heating and lighting suitable for residents.
• Regulation 26 (Risk management). The risk management policy must include hazard identification and assessment of risks throughout the centre, the measures to control those risks, and the measures to control specified risks, one of which is "accidental injury to residents, visitors or staff".

The Regulations as made contain no temperature figure at all. The only scalding provision is the requirement for thermostatic control valves or other suitable anti-scalding protection. The 2013 Regulations have been amended several times. The 2025 amending regulations (in operation from 31 March 2025) amend regulation 26 to add infectious diseases and to replace the serious incident paragraph, and they do not mention regulation 17. Check the current consolidated text for any later change affecting Schedule 6.

What the HIQA National Standards say about temperatures

The National Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People in Ireland came into effect on 1 July 2016. The document shows only the year 2016 and no more precise publication date. Several features of Standard 2.7 (design and layout), grouped under the heading "Heating, lighting and ventilation", deal with temperature. Here is what we read:

Standard 3.2 adds that the service has effective arrangements in place to manage risk and protect residents from the risk of harm. Features 2.6.9 and 2.6.10 under Standard 2.6 refer to a physical environment kept in good structural and decorative repair and a service that is adequately lit, heated and ventilated.

On 18 August 2026, HIQA announced a review of person-centred care and international standards for residential services for older people, which will inform whether the Standards need updating. Check HIQA's site for the current position.

What the sources do not specify

• The Regulations do not give a maximum water temperature. Only the Standards give the 43°C figure for outlets.
• Feature 2.7.23 does not distinguish between a hand basin, a bath and a shower, and it does not set different limits for different residents.
• The Regulations and feature 2.7.23 do not state how often valves must be tested, serviced or replaced, or who should do it, or how results must be recorded. Check the HIQA Regulation Handbook (version 4.1, May 2025) and any current HIQA guidance for provider expectations.

Our suggestion: where a source is silent, decide what is reasonable through your own risk assessment and record the reasoning.

Workplace duties for staff and others

Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, as enacted:

• Section 8 requires every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of employees.
• Section 12 requires employers to manage their undertaking so that, so far as is reasonably practicable, individuals at the place of work who are not employees are not exposed to risks to their safety, health or welfare.
• Section 19 requires the employer to identify the hazards in the place of work and hold a written assessment, to review it after a significant change or if there is reason to think it is no longer valid, and to implement necessary improvements.
• Section 20 requires a written safety statement based on that hazard identification and risk assessment.

This summary is of the Act as enacted in 2005; check the current text if you rely on specific wording.

On hot water specifically, the HSA's guide to Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the General Application Regulations 2007 (published December 2007) says, in its guidance on regulation 20 on washing facilities, that "Hot water temperatures must be controlled so as to prevent scalding". It gives no temperature value. The same guide also says care needs to be taken with temporary heaters to prevent burns from contact with hot surfaces, again with no figure. For the separate topic of room temperature for staff comfort, see our workplace temperature guide. The HIQA figures of 18°C and 21°C are for residents' areas and should not be confused with the workplace minimums in the General Application Regulations.

Scalding and legionella: one system, two risks

An HSA information sheet on Legionnaires' disease (March 2008) says legionella bacteria grow best between 20°C and 45°C, with optimum growth between 35°C and 40°C, and that high temperatures (minimum 60°C) kill the bacteria. It advises employers to carry out a written risk assessment by a competent person and to record findings. The Standards address both risks in the same feature: storage and distribution temperatures for legionella, then local valves for scalding. Check the HSA's current legionella guidance.

A practical approach (our suggestion, not a legal requirement): treat the hot water system as one assessed system. Do not respond to a scalding concern by turning down stored hot water without checking the legionella implications, and do not rely on stored temperature alone to protect a resident at the point of use.

A practical approach to assessing hot water outlets and heating surfaces

The following is our suggestion for how a provider might meet the duties above. It is not a statement of what the law requires in this form.

• List every point of use that residents, staff or visitors can reach: basins, baths, assisted baths, showers, sluice and kitchen taps, and dispensers.
• Record the protection at each one: thermostatic valve, other anti-scalding device or none, and the date it was last checked.
• Measure and compare. Compare readings with the 43°C figure in the Standards and record any outlet above it, along with the action taken.
• Consider the people. Residents with reduced sensation, cognitive impairment or limited mobility may be less able to move away from hot water. Note this in the individual resident risk assessment.
• Check radiators and pipework in resident-accessible areas against the guarded-or-43°C expectation, and consider any portable heaters.
• Set review triggers, such as plumbing work, new equipment, an incident or a near miss.

Our suggestion: a centre's risk management policy under HIQA and the employer's hazard assessment under the 2005 Act can draw on the same site survey.

Incidents, injuries and notifications

A scald to a resident can be both a HIQA matter and a safety matter. The 2025 amending regulations require a process for identifying, recording and investigating serious incidents and adverse events involving residents, for implementing resulting actions, and for audit and learning. They also change the working-day period in regulation 31(1) from three to two working days, and Schedule 4 as amended refers to a serious incident or injury to a resident that requires hospital admission or results in death. Check the full text of regulation 31 and Schedule 4 for which events are notifiable to HIQA and when. A scald to a member of staff is a separate question under the HSA reporting rules. See our guide to HSA accident and dangerous occurrence reporting for that side.

This article is general information and not legal advice. Confirm your own obligations with HIQA, the HSA or a qualified adviser.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Do Irish regulations set a maximum hot water temperature in care homes?

The 2013 Regulations require thermostatic control valves or other suitable anti-scalding protection but give no figure. The HIQA National Standards (feature 2.7.23) refer to preset valves providing water to a maximum of 43°C.

Are the HIQA Standards the same as legal requirements?

Not in themselves. The Regulations are made under the Health Act 2007. The National Standards are a separate HIQA document; HIQA's text says regulations detail what is required by law, and that where a Standards feature is also covered in the regulations that feature is a mandatory requirement. Confirm with HIQA how the Standards apply to your centre.

Who is responsible for scalding risks to staff?

Employers carry the duties under the 2005 Act, including the section 19 risk assessment and the section 20 safety statement.

Does the HSA say what temperature hot water must be?

In the guide we read, the HSA says hot water temperatures must be controlled to prevent scalding but gives no temperature value. Its Legionnaires' disease sheet gives the 60°C figure for killing the bacteria.

How often must anti-scalding valves be tested?

The sources we read do not set a testing interval. Set one through your risk assessment, record it and follow manufacturer instructions.