The following flowchart (available on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence website) shows healthcare professionals working in the community how to categorise patients based on their symptoms and oxygen levels — green for low risk, amber for medium risk, red for high risk.
Note that even patients with oxygen levels of 95% and above should undergo the ’40 steps desaturation’ test. This is an important indicator to gauge how patients with potential covid are assessed relative to other populations.
Green = oxygen saturations of 95% or higher
Amber = oxygen saturations of 93%-94%
Red = oxygen saturations of 92% or lower