Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that GPs offer face-to-face appointments to patients during the covid-19 outbreak.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have issued guidance on the importance of continuing to offer face to face appointments, utilising remote triage and making use of online and telephone consultations where appropriate – whilst considering the needs of those unable to access or engage with digital services. On 7 January 2021 NHS England and NHS Improvement set out further details on the actions to release capacity in general practice as well as priorities for the next quarter. This includes maintaining routine appointments, supporting the clinically extremely vulnerable and those with ‘long’ COVID-19 and continuing to reduce the backlog of appointments.