Hello all,

An FRA had identified that the final exits at the front and the rear of the house required non-lockable thumb turns to be fitted - this has been completed but I have a query around the front exit.

The property in question is a semi-detached house used as a supporting-living residence for 2 tenants, with at least 1 carer on site on a 24/7 basis. Both the service users have been assessed as high capacity and are not considered a risk for absconding (they are often able to leave the house by themselves).

There are multiple support staff who work on shifts at the property - during sleep-ins they will lock the front interior door at night.

The front of the house has a porch - the exterior door has been fitted with a thumb turn lock but the interior still has a lock and key. Given that the interior door would obviously need to be opened to exit through the exterior one, would it also not be a requirement for both doors to have thumb turn locks?

Thanks for any input on this.

You'd certainly think so!

Basically, both doors are part of a single escape route.  They must on a simple action locking mechanism i.e. a thumb turn or push bar.  The presence of staff does not remove the requirement