Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when wearing face coverings to attend (a) phlebotomy appointments, (b) GP surgeries, (c) outpatient clinics, (d) accident and emergency departments and (e) hospital wards will be made compulsory.

The Government’s advice is to wear a face covering in enclosed spaces where social distancing may be difficult and where people come into contact with people they do not normally meet. On 15 June the Government announced that members of the public should wear a face covering when visiting the hospital.

Each of these healthcare settings will have different risks and mitigations in place, and patients should follow the advice provided by health professionals appropriate to each setting. In addition, the Government is running a major proactive communications campaign on face coverings to alert the public where they are now required to wear face coverings and educate the public on how to correctly wear one.