Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of Oximeters on the treatment of covid-19; and what plans he has to make them more widely available.

There are ongoing data collection and evaluation workstreams underway as part of the COVID-19 oximetry programmes. Oximeters are not used in the treatment of COVID-19 but in the early detection ‘silent hypoxia’ which seems to present more commonly in patients with risk factors. Measuring decreases in blood oxygen levels using oximeters helps identify patients who are at risk of clinical deterioration which in turn improves outcomes. Oximeters are already widely available in primary care and secondary care across England for patients with COVID-19 and with risk factors based on clinical judgement.