Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the covid-19 outbreak, what advice his Department has published on shielding for patients with Batten Disease.
Batten disease is not one of the specific health conditions identified by expert clinicians and signed off by the Chief Medical Officer that put someone at greatest risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Some patients with Batten disease may have been advised to shield, but this will be because they have been recommended to do so by their general practitioner or hospital specialist, due to other health conditions or individual clinical circumstances. National shielding advice has been paused since 1 August, although it remains in place for some local areas where incidence of the disease remains high.