Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance NHS England provides to GP practices on responding to covert recording of consultations by patients.

NHS England has not produced guidance specifically for general practices on the covert recording of consultations. NHS England has published guidance on the use of mobile devices by patients in hospitals, which signposts to the British Medical Association guidance on managing covert recordings. Both of these guidance documents are available, respectively, at the following two links:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/information-governance/guidance/use-of-mobile-devices-by-patients-in-hospitals#guidance-for-health-and-care-professionals

https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/ethics/confidentiality-and-health-records/patients-recording-consultations

There is also advice available from the Medical Defence Union and from local medical committees to assist general practices in developing policies for their own practices.