IN THIS ISSUE… - Barnsley Council Online

WHAT’S NEW ATTHE TRUSTWELCOME TO LÉANNI joined The Hepatitis C Trust as theirCommunications Manager in May of thisyear. In this newly created role, I look afterPR and marketing for the organisation.I was interested in working for a patientledand patient-run organisation thatprovides real support to those affected byhepatitis C.Before joining the Trust, I was the PRManager for an Armed Forces welfarecharity called SSAFA Forces Help where Isupported their core services andfundraising events with awarenesscampaigns. Previous to this I worked fora number of international TV channelsand made the jump into the charitysector two years ago with the aim ofworking more closely with people, ratherthan corporate initiatives.Léann Lavery, Communications ManagerTHE TRUST’S WORK SHOWCASEDAT HEALTH PROTECTION 2012Two projects conducted by The Hepatitis CTrust last year were showcased thismonth at the Health Protection Agency’sannual national conference at WarwickUniversity.Increasing Testing in the Prison Setting:A collaborative project undertaken withHMP Manchester (Strangeways) Prison,The Pennine Acute NHS Trust and TheBritish Liver Trust looked at strategies toincrease hepatitis B and C testing anddiagnosis in the prison setting. Thisfound that offering finger prick driedblood spot tests in prisons – where atleast 8% of people are estimated to havehepatitis C – can increase the uptakeof testing.Lesley Jenkins, The Trust’s Training andDevelopment Manager, trained fourteenhealthcare staff at the prison to provideoral fluid point of care tests and driedblood spot tests as well as in hepatitis Band C more generally and pre and posttestdiscussions. This was madeavailable to all prisoners accessing thehealthcare wing. In total one hundred andfifty-four prisoners were tested over thecourse of the three month pilot, asignificant increase on the 0-30 tests permonth which had been the average in theprison before. Thirteen (8%) of testsreturned a positive result, one forhepatitis B and twelve hepatitis Cantibodies. All eight PCR tests whichwere done were positive; the remainingfour people testing hepatitis C antibodypositive were released or transferredbefore they could get a PCR. One of thepeople who had hepatitis C was at furtherscreening also diagnosed with HIV.Since running the project, the staff atHMP Manchester have secured funding tocontinue providing dried blood spot teststo those who need it in the prisonhealthcare wing.The City and Hackney Pharmacy TestingPilotResults were also featured in a posterpresentation. Part of the Trust's NationalPharmacy Testing Programme, pharmacystaff in nine pharmacies in Hackney, EastLondon, were trained to offer dried bloodspot testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis Cand HIV in the spring of 2011.Testing was offered to anyone who mayhave been at risk of hepatitis B, hepatitisC or HIV and was available on demand andfree of charge. Staff from seven of thepharmacies went on to test a total of sixtyonepatients over the course of tenmonths. Although testing rates were low,the proportion of positives was extremelyhigh: of the sixty-one tests undertaken31% gave a positive result.Sixteen tests (26%) were positive forhepatitis C antibodies, two tests (3%) werepositive for hepatitis B surface antigens,and one test (2%) was positive for HIVantibodies. Five of the sixteen hepatitis Cpositive tests were PCR positive.Local health service commissioners arenow hoping to secure funds to continue andexpand the project over the coming year.HCV ACTIONTHE VOICE OF THE HEPATITIS CPROFESSIONAL COMMUNITYHCV Action is a new network of healthprofessionals from across the UK workingin the field of hepatitis C. It brings togetherconsultant hepatologists, hepatitis C nursespecialists, GPs with an interest inhepatology, DAAT teams, prison healthstaff, public health leads andcommissioners to share and spread goodpractice. The Hepatitis C Trust runs thesecretariat for the Group.The Group have launched a “CommissioningToolkit” to improve care and services forpeople with hepatitis C. The toolkit isbased on the ‘ABC Commissioning forOutcomes Model’ which is recognised byNICE as good commissioning practice. It isavailable from the HCV Action website.HCV Action is free to join and members willget updates on promising practice acrossthe country, innovative awareness raisingwork and new tools to help driveimprovements to hepatitis C services.If you are a health professional andwould like to join, please emailhcvaction@hepctrust.org.uk with yourname, contact details, job title and theorganisation you work for. Please visitwww.hcvaction.org.uk to find out more.HEALTH DAYWORKSHOPSA free one day workshop created to helppeople who have hepatitis C. Whetherjust diagnosed, contra-indicated fortreatment, treatment has failed,experiencing difficulty post treatment orliving with the virus.Run by patients with experience of livingwith hepatitis C, the workshop aims toprovide accurate and useful informationand introduce techniques and lifestylechanges that really can help improveliving with hepatitis C. It’s also a fun,interesting and social day with lots ofuseful hand-outs plus a delicious liverfriendlylunch and fresh juices.Subjects covered include:Hepatitis C, the liver, symptoms, diet,exercise, positive attitude, stressmanagement, energy managementNext available dates 27th Octoberand 1st December at our office atLondon Bridge. For more details orto book a place, please contactCatherine Corr on 020 7089 6220 orcatherine.corr@hepctrust.org.uk9