Priority Plumbing Help for Vulnerable Households

Which failures are urgent when someone vulnerable is at home

A fault that is an inconvenience for a healthy adult can be a real risk for someone who is frail, ill, pregnant or very young. These are the ones to treat as an emergency in that situation, not something to leave until Monday.

• No heating in cold weather. The NHS advises heating the rooms you use to at least 18°C, and older people and babies lose heat faster
• No water at all, especially where someone needs water for medical reasons, such as home dialysis, a feeding pump or frequent washing because of incontinence
• The only toilet out of action for someone with limited mobility
• A leak near electrics, or water on a floor someone uses a walking frame or wheelchair on
• Any sign of carbon monoxide: headaches, dizziness or nausea that ease when away from home, a lazy orange gas flame, or sooty marks on or around a gas appliance

If you smell gas or suspect carbon monoxide, open windows, turn off the gas at the meter if you safely can, avoid switches, get everyone outside, then call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 and seek medical advice. Carbon monoxide is especially dangerous in pregnancy and for babies. Read the carbon monoxide warning signs if you are unsure.

The Priority Services Register: free help most people have not signed up for

The Priority Services Register (PSR) is a free list kept by energy suppliers and by the network companies that own the power lines and gas pipes. Water companies keep their own register. In some areas the energy networks and the water company share details, so ask when you sign up whether one registration covers both; if not, register with each.

You can usually register if someone in the home is of pensionable age, has a disability or long-term health condition, uses medical equipment that relies on power or water, has a child under five, is pregnant, is blind, partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing, or has lost their sense of smell. That last one matters for gas: a person who cannot smell a gas leak relies on someone else noticing it, and the gas network can flag them for priority help in an emergency. Carbon monoxide has no smell at all, so everyone needs a working alarm regardless. A carer or relative can register on someone’s behalf.

For water, Thames Water says that for customers on its register it will try to call if there is a burst or supply problem near the home, and will deliver bottled water to people who need water for medical reasons and cannot go out to collect it. For power and gas, the network companies use the register to warn you about planned cuts and to prioritise contact during an unplanned one. Registering takes a few minutes and costs nothing, and it is far easier to do before the day you need it.

What to tell the plumber when you call

Any plumber taking an emergency call has to decide which job to reach first. They can only put yours higher if they know. Be specific rather than just saying it is urgent.

• Who is at home: "my mother is 88 and lives alone", "I am 34 weeks pregnant", "there is a six-month-old baby"
• What the failure means for that person: no heat, no water for medication or formula, no usable toilet
• Whether anyone at home can turn off the stopcock or open the door, or whether a neighbour or relative needs to be there
• Any access needs: a key safe, a lift that is out of order, a dog that needs shutting away
• Whether you are calling on someone else’s behalf, and the best number to reach the person at the property

The £60 call-out applies at any hour for our visits, and the repair price is agreed on site before any work starts. If you are arranging help for a relative, you can agree the price by phone with the engineer while they are there. See the 24 hour plumber page for how night visits work.

Keeping the person safe while you wait

With no heating, heat one room rather than the whole house. Close the door, use a safe electric heater kept well away from bedding and curtains, and layer clothing and blankets. Never use a gas cooker or an outdoor heater to warm a room. Hot drinks and a meal help more than people expect. If the boiler has stopped, the emergency boiler repair page explains the checks that are safe to try first, all of them outside the boiler casing.

With no water, check whether it is just your home or the street before you call a plumber: if neighbours have none either, it is a supply problem for the water company, and no water in my area explains who to call. Keep a few litres of bottled water in the house for medication and drinking. For babies, the NHS says bottled water is not usually recommended for making up formula because it may contain too much sodium or sulphate; in an emergency it can be used, but it still needs boiling and the usual preparation steps.

With a leak, the priority is falls and electric shock. Shut the stopcock if you can reach it safely, switch off the power at the consumer unit if water is near sockets or lights and the unit is dry, and keep the person out of the wet room. Put towels down and move rugs, which become a trip hazard when wet. The no water emergency visit covers a supply that is off inside the property.

Small changes that make the next emergency easier

Many emergencies become dangerous for vulnerable people because of something small that nobody could reach or operate. A few changes, most of them done on an ordinary visit rather than in an emergency, remove that risk.

• Have a stiff or hidden stopcock replaced or supplemented with a lever-handle valve somewhere easy to reach, so it can be turned off with one hand
• Fit a carbon monoxide alarm in every room with a gas appliance, and test it
• Ask about a thermostatic mixing valve on the bath or basin if someone is at risk of scalding, which limits how hot the water at the tap can get
• Keep a note by the phone with the stopcock location, the boiler make and model, and who to call
• If you rent, tell the landlord in writing who lives in the home. The rules on landlord repair responsibilities make fast repairs more pressing where someone is vulnerable