Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is his policy to allow GP practices to undertake advertising campaigns.

Providing information to patients is an important part of general practice as this enables patients to understand the services available.

Currently, there is no national guidance around the advertising of general practitioner (GP) services. However, the joint Royal College of General Practitioners and General Practitioners Committee guidance states that information about GP medical services must be factual and verifiable. The guidance also states GP practices must not make unjustifiable claims about the quality or outcomes of their services in any information they provide to patients. They must not put pressure on people to use a service, for instance, by arousing ill-founded fears for their future health. The guidance further states that the information provided by a practice should avoid making comparisons with others.