Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether General Practitioners are no longer able to perform routine procedures such as syringing of ears and treatment of minor injuries; and if not, who took the decisions to remove these procedures from general practice; and when these decisions were taken.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued guidance in 2018 no longer advising manual ear syringing due to risks associated, such as trauma to the ear drum or infection. NICE guidance suggests alternative arrangements for treatment of excessive ear wax, such as considering ear irrigation using an electronic irrigator, micro suction, or manual removal using a probe. General practitioners follow this guidance and are increasingly recommending self-care methods as the primary means to support the safe removal of ear wax, such as in cases of deafness.