This good practice case study, produced by the Turning Point substance misuse service, highlights recent work carried out by nurse and hepatitis C champion Fay Smith in collaboration with colleagues. With previously-homeless individuals accommodated following the Covid-19 outbreak, the opportunity was seized to offer hepatitis C testing and treatment to this cohort.
Rapid Decline in HCV Incidence among People Who Inject Drugs Associated with National Scale-Up in Coverage of a Combination of Harm Reduction Interventions
Download
This study, funded by the Scottish Government, sought to determine whether trends in the proportion of injectors newly infected with hepatitis C in Scotland between 2008 and 2012 could be linked to the adequacy of provision of sterile injecting equipment and of methadone maintenance treatment. It found that impressive reductions in hepatitis C incidence can be achieved among PWID over a relatively short time period through high coverage of a combination of harm reduction interventions.
