Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which documents set out the triage policy in relation to a pandemic for (1) hospitals, and (2) care homes, as of January 2020.

Re-configuring service delivery to ensure sufficient National Health Service capacity was central to our preparedness for a pandemic and the COVID-19 response. However, the Department does not have - and did not have in January 2020 - a pandemic triage policy for hospitals and care homes, as this is a clinical matter. In the event that patient triage becomes necessary, clinical guidance would be produced to support decision-making.