WORDS FROM THE ROOM ON HEPATITIS C ...
DDN CONFERENCE 2024
FIND YOUR VOICE
The afternoon session saw lively , interactive discussions on three crucial topics – the ongoing fight against hep C , ensuring user involvement is genuine and at the heart of services , and getting the sector ’ s key issues into the in-trays of our new crop of MPs
HEPATITIS C – THE RACE FOR ELIMINATION
The conference theme of ‘ Stronger Together ’ summed up the fight against hepatitis C , Deborah Moores of Humankind told the conference . Her organisation was part of the Hep C Drug Treatment Provider Forum , which was hosted by Gilead Sciences and also included NHS England , the Hepatitis C Trust , and the hep C leads from the country ’ s main treatment providers . ‘ We ’ ve all got the same goals , so we ’ ve pooled our resources , our expertise , our methods , our policies and our ways of doing things so we can do it stronger together . We all have that passion and we ’ re all very vocal , so sometimes we need NHSE and the Hep C trust to calm us down a bit .’
STREAMLINED PATHWAYS Sharing , integration and equality were the key themes when working together , she told the conference . Other organisations involved included the operational delivery networks ( ODNs ) who were trying to get as many people as possible into treatment , and other pharma organisations , said Deanne Burch of Hep C U Later . ‘ We ’ re trying to get as much coverage as possible and streamline those pathways , so if you go into one drug service you ’ re going to get the same level of care around your hep C as you would anywhere else .’ Last year the forum won the Health Service Journal ’ s best healthcare analytics project award for its work with data , said Moores , thanks to its focus on developing shared solutions to common problems . ‘ We ’ ve all got the same challenges . We ’ re trying to test everybody so what we need to know now is where are the places we ’ re missing and what cohort should we be talking to ? It ’ s all about collaboration and networking .’
The forum had established elimination criteria to make sure that everyone accessing services who ’ d put themselves at risk was offered , and received , a test . ‘ And if that test is positive and they need treatment , for us to be able to facilitate that treatment for
them as effectively as possible .’ It had also developed a set of elimination standards for all treatment providers , she added . ‘ They ’ re not easy to achieve , and they ’ re not meant to be . We don ’ t want something that ’ s just throwaway – we want something that people have striven hard to get to .’ Around 84,000 people had been treated since the middle of the last decade , with a 37 per cent reduction in deaths . Eighty per cent of the treatment provided was to the most deprived half of the population , she added , and there were now 15 prisons that had achieved micro-elimination .
‘ We have a shared set of beliefs that we try to live with as much as possible ,’ said Burch . ‘ And we ’ re in this because we do believe it ’ s possible to eliminate hep C as a public health threat in England .’ There was still a real issue of reaching people who were not coming into drug services and offering them a test , however . ‘ We need to make sure they ’ re aware of the risks . So tell us where we need to go , and what we need to do .’
WORDS FROM THE ROOM ON HEPATITIS C ...
‘ I AM DELIGHTED TO SEE THE CROSS-ORGANISATIONAL WORKING ON ELIMINATION OF HEP C . I think this can be an inspiration for many other parts of drug policy work and all our efforts to prevent future deaths related to the use of drugs . The powerful work of peer mentors has been part of the success of hep C elimination – reaching people and places which others can ’ t , and supporting people one by one through their treatment journeys . I hope that peer mentor power can also get out messages about the current synthetic opioid dangers and the need for naloxone this year . The same group of people – those not engaged with drug treatment services – are the most at risk , both of hep C infection and of death from nitazenes .’ Judith Yates
‘ WE OFFER PERSONALISED CARE AT THE HEP C TRUST . We pick up our patients from their homes and take them to the drug and alcohol services to pick up their treatment and take them back home . Our aim is to eliminate the virus and we ’ ll do this by using peer volunteers and employees with lived experience who have been through treatment and can give empathic understanding , supporting service users through treatment .’ Samuel Deeley , Hep C Trust
‘ I GOT TESTED FOR HEP C IN PRISON and had a bit of paper through the door saying “ you ’ re positive ”, then the door slammed again . It didn ’ t bother me because it was something I thought everybody got . I ’ ve
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