Distancing rule ditched

COVID rules that were blamed for reducing the availability of GP appointments were scrapped yesterday.

GP surgeries can now ditch two-metre distancing after guidance from the UK Health Security Agency quango.

The guidance also drops the need for onerous ‘enhanced cleaning’ regimes in most areas of healthcare venues.

The agency said it was recommending a ‘more flexible approach to patient consultations’ in the light of the successful jabs programme.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said yesterday: ‘Covid pressures, concerns about infection and reduced space in waiting rooms have often made the process of getting an appointment more difficult.’