Coronavirus: Disease Control
(asked on 19th May 2020) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken in (a) primary and (b) community care settings throughout England to proactively monitor the health of people who have received a positive covid-19 test result in order to (i) identify and (ii) support those people who may be at risk of hospitalisation.
For patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, the monitoring and identification of ‘silent hypoxia’ and rapid patient deterioration at home, including care homes, is important.
Oxygen levels are the best means of identifying patients most at risk of poor outcomes. Oximetry is an important tool to monitor oxygen levels in patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Frontline professionals (in hospitals, community services and general practice) already use oximeters to help diagnose and monitor the health of patients.
When in contact with an individual to conduct a test for COVID-19, we encourage individuals to contact 111 or 999 if their symptoms worsen. A page on NHS.UK is also available at the following link to help those receiving test results understand them: