Resources

This HCV Action good practice case study looks at an outreach service that has been developed in Newcastle. Based at Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, the service delivers three outreach centres in locations across the north east region. Prior to the outreach service, hospital attendance at new hepatitis C patient appointments was less than 50%. The service has resulted in attendance rates of 75%, an increase in the numbers of people being treated, and comparable Sustainable Virological Response (SVR) rates as hospital-based treatment.

On 17th May 2016, HCV Action and Public Health England (PHE) staged a hepatitis C good practice roadshow in Newcastle. The event was designed to showcase and share best practice in the prevention, diagnosis, testing and treatment of hepatitis C, and identify specific issues and potential solutions for tackling hepatitis C in Newcastle and the wider north east region.

This good practice case study looks at the support services offered to people with hepatitis C in the Lothians by Positive Help. These services include a transport service which allows service users to attend appointments and stay engaged in the care pathway, as well as a service providing domestic help in service users' homes.

This case study details why the services were established, how they work, and the outcomes that they have achieved.

This article provides analysis of the estimated impact of new treatment for hepatitis C on both the prevention of transmission of the virus, and on preventing hepatitis C-related liver disease.

It concludes that focusing treatment solely on people with cirrhosis is not a tenable long-term strategy if continued reductions in new cases of end stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as reductions in transmission are to be achieved. It also finds that treatment of other groups will need to follow quickly if these reductions are to be achieved.