Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans NHS England has to issue protective masks to GP surgeries to help protect staff from covid-19.

Public Health England has published interim guidance for primary care. The main principles of the advice are to identify potential cases as soon as possible, prevent potential transmission of infection to other patients and staff, advice to avoid direct physical contact, including physical examination, and exposures to respiratory secretions and to isolate the patient, obtain specialist advice and determine if the patient is at risk of COVID-19.

Within this guidance under actions to take it is advised that if entry to the room or contact with a patient suspected of having COVID-19 is unavoidable in an emergency, wear personal protective equipment (PPE) in line with standard infection control precautions, such as gloves, apron and fluid resistant surgical mask.

General practitioner surgeries should continue to use their current procedures for ordering, supplying and procuring PPE and use their usual contracted routes should any escalation be needed.