Resources

With the Covid-19 outbreak having caused significant disruption to healthcare services, including those for hepatitis C, this webinar was organised to discuss how services have been affected in Scotland and explore how hepatitis C services can most effectively be re-established as we emerge from the early phase of the outbreak. The webinar featured contributions from the following speakers: Professor John Dillon - Clinical Lead for Blood Borne Viruses, NHS Tayside Leon Wylie - Lead Officer, Hepatitis Scotland Rachel Halford - CEO, The Hepatitis C Trust

This Scottish Drugs Forum-produced guidance is aimed at those planning and designing services as well as those managing and delivering services for people who use drugs, in particular those people on opioid substitution therapy (OST) and people who inject drugs. The guidance includes a section on blood borne virus (BBV) testing, noting that "all delayed BBV results from dry blood spot tests must be proactively followed up in a timely manner once COVID-19 related restrictions allow".

This two-sided leaflet from The Hepatitis C Trust notes seven ways in which people who use drugs can protect themselves and others. Services are welcome to print and distribute the leaflet.

This best practice resource details the One Recovery Bucks blood borne virus pathway implemented in 2016. The pathway, involving partnership working with the local NHS Trust is much simpler than the previous pathway and is all completed ‘in-house’ at the One Recovery Bucks community drug and alcohol service. The new pathway has resulted in an increase in those who test positive advancing to access treatment from 18% to over 90%.