Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of older buildings on the (a) ventilation and (b) infection, prevention and control measures of hospitals and GP practices that reside within them.

NHS organisations and Primary Care providers regularly review all their estate locally to ensure it meets the required standards for ventilation and infection, prevention and control measures and will invest in improvements where required.

Health and social care providers have obligations set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008: code of practice on the prevention and control of infections to undertake steps to keep patients, residents and staff safe.

Guidance is provided by NHS England to the NHS in the Health Technical Memorandum (HTM 03-01) Specialised ventilation for healthcare buildings. Additional related guidance was issued on 9 May 2023 on the application of high-efficiency particulate absorbing filter devices for air cleaning in healthcare spaces and the application of ultraviolet devices for air cleaning in occupied healthcare spaces.