Question reference: S5W-27999
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 18 March 2020
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Current status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 June 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of an increased number of referrals by GPs and hospitals for patients with conjunctivitis and red eye, which can reportedly signs of COVID-19, what the relevant guidelines are for (a) optometrists and (b) other non-NHS frontline healthcare staff.
Answer
Viral conjunctivitis is not currently listed in the national case definition for COVID-19. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists and College of Optometrists have jointly advised that it is unlikely that a patient would present with viral conjunctivitis as a secondary complication from COVID-19 without also having one or more of the recognised symptoms of COVID-19 - either a new continuous cough, a fever or high temperature, or a loss of or change in sense of smell or taste (anosmia).
Community optometrists are therefore advised to treat viral conjunctivitis in the absence of recognised COVID-19 symptoms as they would usually treat any presentation of viral conjunctivitis, including normal scrupulous levels of infection control and hand hygiene measures.