Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to support patients without digital devices to access GP services during the covid-19 outbreak.
General practice is offering more triage and remote consultations to see as many patients as possible while protecting staff and patients from avoidable risk of infection. Digital services do not replace face-to-face care but are an essential additional tool that primary care can use alongside other access routes to help ensure patients are receiving the right care as quickly and easily as possible. In addition, we have developed alternative ways for people to access digital services, such as booking appointments by proxy where a family member or carer has access to the internet.