Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance has been given to NHS general practices on the circumstances under which volunteers are permitted to carry out non-confidential medical work; and whether this guidance is the same as that for permitted activities of volunteers in other parts of the NHS.

NHS England is responsible for ensuring those general practices who provide NHS services are issued with appropriate guidance on the management of volunteers. In September 2017, NHS England published guidance for all National Health Service providers to help them grow and develop volunteering. This equally applies to general practice as to other parts of the NHS. The guidance sets out that providers should include confidentiality and data protection information in a volunteering policy. The volunteer role description set out in the guidance states that all volunteers should ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times.

The guidance is available on the NHS England website:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/recruiting-and-managing-volunteers-in-nhs-providers-a-practical-guide/