Posted: 26-May-2006 << BACK
'LOTTERY' OF LIVER VIRUS by Clare boyd - Nottingham Evening Post 25/5/06
Hepatitis C sufferers in Notts are facing a "postcode lottery", according to a new survey.
Diagnosis and treatment of the blood-borne virus which attacks the liver is much better in Nottingham than in Newark and Sherwood, say campaigners. But their claims have been dismissed by health officials in Newark and Sherwood.
The All-Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group found that 92% of 191 primary care trusts in the country had failed to fully implement a 2004 Department of Health action plan to tackle the disease.
Nottingham City PCT met eight out of ten targets while Newark and Sherwood scored only two according to the group.
Targets included estimating the number of people in the area with the disease, having a protocol for testing and treating it quickly.
The report said hepatitis C care "depends on where you live" and claimed lives were being put at risk.
But Dr Richard Richards, Director of Public Health for Newark and Sherwood PCT, said the survey did not reflect standards in treatment.
Dr Chris Packham, Director of Public Health for Nottingham City PCT, said around 4,200 people have chronic hepatitis C across Nottingham.
