Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to update the guidance and specifications on the use of mechanical ventilation systems in the healthcare sector.

The Health Technical Memorandum ‘Specialised ventilation for healthcare buildings’ was updated and published on 22 June 2021 and there are no plans to update it at this time.

Additional related guidance was issued on 9 May 2023 on the associated topics of the application of high-efficiency particulate absorbing filter devices for air cleaning in healthcare spaces, guidance and standards, and the application of ultraviolet devices for air cleaning in occupied healthcare spaces, guidance and standards.

This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/application-of-ultraviolet-uvc-devices-for-air-cleaning-in-occupied-healthcare-spaces-guidance-and-standards/