Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what use is made of improved air cleaning and extraction in hospitals to tackle viral infection.

National Health Service infection prevention and control principles recommend healthcare settings implement interventions to reduce the risk of transmitting infection, which include cleaning and decontaminating the environment and shared equipment and increasing ventilation.

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch has completed an investigation into how hospitals can minimise the risk of patients catching COVID-19 on acute hospital wards and has produced safety recommendations at a national level, as well as practical advice for trusts.

In addition, the Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 03-01: Specialised Ventilation for Healthcare Premises is currently being updated and is going through final draft review and approval processes as is normal for all technical guidance. Health Technical Memoranda give comprehensive advice and guidance on the design, installation and operation of specialised building and engineering technology used in the delivery of healthcare.