Leave no one behind: A manifesto for hepatitis C elimination

The opportunity to free the world from a disease such as hepatitis C does not come around very often. As a country, we are in the rare position of being able to achieve this in the coming decade – but we need the Government to build on the momentum we have generated and make sure the impact of its promises are being felt on the ground.
The Hepatitis C Trust has used its experience from almost two decades of working in hepatitis C to inform our manifesto of what we believe the next UK Government needs to do to eliminate this virus and so prevent hundreds of thousands of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in our society from being exposed to the increased risk of liver disease and cancer which hepatitis C brings.
Our manifesto calls for:
1. A nation-wide strategy and targeted awareness campaign to identify the almost-100,000 people who are living with hepatitis C without knowing it.
2. Urgent support for substance misuse services to deliver hepatitis C care, including immediate investment after years of funding cuts.
3. Changes in current legislation and regulation to allow hepatitis C medication to be dispensed by community services such as pharmacies to make treatment more accessible.
4. Guidance to improve the current system for transferring prisoners’ care, as well as including rates of testing for hepatitis C as part of the key performance indicators for prison healthcare.