Wirral Drug and Alcohol Addiction Team (DAAT) Hep C Strategy

The National Treatment Agency’s (NTA) aspirational target is for each DAAT partnership to ensure that 100% of their previous/current injecting drug user (IDU) population to have been tested for Hepatitis C. Many DAATs across the country have struggled to achieve this target and Wirral DAAT’s performance at the end of 2007/08 is at 20%. At this time, Wirral DAAT commissioned a Specialist Hep C Nurse Post for several years who was tasked to work with a local Consultant in Gastroenterology to develop the Hepatitis C Treatment Pathway, providing the link between the Harm Reduction Team at Cheshire Wirral Partnership (CWP) Drug Service and Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH). Once developed the Harm Reduction Nurse Team would refer any IDUs who had been screened to the Specialist Hep C Nurse Post, who would then facilitate the individual’s treatment journey. This pathway proved to be very effective, with 77% of treatment completers clearing the virus in the three subsequent years up. With an effective treatment pathway in place, it seemed that the blockage related to a lack of people taking up the offer of screening. There was also some issues with data quality and reporting across the relevant service providers. This document provides a timeline of the Hepatitis C strategy.