Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to ensure patients can be seen by a trained registered health professional in the event that GP practices are required to close in response to a high number of staff self-isolating as a result of increased levels of covid-19 infection.

Through its regional teams, NHS England and NHS Improvement work closely with clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to ensure business continuity measures are in place in the event that a practice encounters an outbreak which may have an impact on service delivery. This includes ensuring access to an appointment with a health care professional, either face-to-face or remotely as appropriate, taking into account patient need and clinical judgement. In many cases, self-isolating staff have been able to consult remotely using laptops provided by CCGs to support home working.