To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued on the criteria used to determine whether a person is deemed to be housebound and eligible for home visits from healthcare professionals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to update guidance on eligibility for home visits from healthcare professionals for a person who is deemed to be housebound.

Under the GP Contract, practices must provide services to a patient outside of practice premises in instances where, in the reasonable opinion of the practice, it is considered that a consultation is required and it would be inappropriate for the patient to attend the practice premises. Practices must provide this service at the patient’s last recorded home address or Another place in the contractor’s practice area.

In 2014/15, contract arrangements were updated to introduce a measure allowing general practitioner practices to register patients from outside the practice areas without a duty to provide home visits for such patients, where considered clinically appropriate. Where an individual is registered as an out of area patient without home visits, NHS England and NHS Improvement are responsible for ensuring continued access to primary medical services in cases of an urgent care need when at home and it would be inappropriate for the patient to attend the practice. There are no plans to change the current GP Contract requirements related to home visits.