HEPATITIS C
STAYING ON TRACK
What does COVID-19 mean for
hepatitis C elimination plans in
London? Dee Cunniffe gives an update
T
wo months ago, on 2
March, senior leaders
from across the NHS,
addictions sector and
public health in London
came together at City Hall to kick
start work on a new routemap to
eliminate hepatitis C in the capital.
The World Hepatitis Alliance hailed
the partnership as ‘an example
of best practice that could be
replicated in cities across the world’
and support for this initiative from
every connected sector in London
has been impressive.
However, just days after our
‘kick start’ event, the enormity of
the impact of COVID-19 started to
unfold. That seems like a lifetime
ago now, and since then the NHS
has completely reconfigured to
create capacity for coronavirus
patients, and all outreach and
addictions support services have
had to adapt to supporting people
remotely.
So, where does that leave our
plans for eliminating hepatitis C?
While people who had started
treatment are being supported
to complete it and become
hepatitis C free, outreach testing
and treatment initiations have
10 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • MAY 2020
paused in most places, and
some hepatologists have been
redeployed to COVID wards.
We know this is not forever and
Matt Hancock has already started
talking about the restoration
of other NHS services. This
will require substantial service
The steering
group for the
Routemap brings
together senior
representatives
from Public Health
England, local
government, NHS
England, addictions
service providers,
homeless services,
CCGs and The
Hepatitis C Trust
reconfiguration in many places
and will take several weeks, maybe
months for some areas.
Creativity and fresh thinking
will be required to ensure that
healthcare challenges, such as
finding the undiagnosed people
who are living with hepatitis C, are
not worsened in the long term due
to this crisis. For example, we will
need to think more creatively about
how we raise awareness and provide
information and support online, and
whether self-testing could be used,
as it has for HIV.
The steering group for the
routemap brings together senior
representatives from Public
Health England, local government,
NHS England, addictions service
providers, homeless services, CCGs
and The Hepatitis C Trust. While
many of these people and their
organisations are completely
focused on combatting COVID-19 at
the moment, they are all also deeply
committed to the goal of eliminating
hepatitis C. No one wants progress
made in addressing hepatitis C to be
another victim of COVID-19.
There is one thing that has
been constant in my experience
of working in the hepatitis C field
for the last ten years: progress has
always been built on the passion
and dedication of an army of
incredible people, from people with
experience of living with hepatitis
C to nurses, consultants, addictions
support workers, and many more. I
know that we will all rise to the new
challenges and, as a ‘new normal’
develops, ensure we continue
to make progress to our goal of
eliminating hepatitis C.
Dee Cunniffe is LJWG project lead
The routemap to eliminating hepatitis C in London has
five key areas for action – raising awareness, engaging
with people who are under-served by traditional health
systems, working with GPs to find the undiagnosed, making
pathways as quick and easy as possible, and aligning
hepatitis C and HIV Fast Track Cities Initiatives.
Read more at www.ljwg.org.uk/news
WWW.DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS.COM