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 the timely sending of vital medical correspondence to GPs.

The timely provision of medical correspondence to general practitioners (GPs) is vital; therefore, there are clear requirements in the current NHS Standard Contract (at Service Condition 11) for hospitals to supply patients’ discharge summaries to GPs, electronically, within 24 hours of discharge – and to supply letters following outpatient clinic attendance (where clinically required) within seven days of attendance.