Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to tackle the delay in medical professionals adding patients that are clinically vulnerable to covid-19 to the shielded patients list.

Only clinically extremely vulnerable people are included on the shielded patient list. Following the update to shielding guidance on 31 May 2020, the National Health Service has written to general practitioners (GPs), NHS trusts and commissioners asking them to continue to maintain the shielded patient list, using the existing criteria and processes.

GPs or specialists are able to add individual patients to the list where they consider them to be clinically extremely vulnerable. They may also remove people from the list where they believe someone has been identified in error through the national process, or if they no longer think someone is clinically extremely vulnerable. This should only ever be done in consultation with the patient and other clinicians where appropriate.

Anyone who is concerned about whether or not they should be shielding, should contact their doctor to discuss.