Parliamentary Event: Sustaining Success
In July, we held a reception in the House of Commons to celebrate the progress that has been made towards eliminating hepatitis C and discuss what needs to be done to ensure that this historic achievement, when it arrives, is maintained.
Hosted by Peter Dowd MP, the event also marked the publication of the final report of the Hepatitis C Elimination Maintenance Strategy Group, coordinated by HCV Action: Sustaining Success: Principles to achieve and maintain hepatitis C elimination in England
We were thrilled to see such a great turnout, including guests from the World Health Organization, many parliamentarians, and key health, criminal justice, and drug and alcohol stakeholders. The event provided a fantastic opportunity for attendees to read the new report and hear first-hand about the strides we’re taking towards elimination, with our staff from each region in England manning stands.
Infected Blood
July also saw the Infected Blood Inquiry publish its report on the timeliness and adequacy of the Government’s response to compensation. The Inquiry took the unprecedented step to reopen with hearings in May following an outpouring of concern from the community about the implementation of the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, particularly related to the fairness of compensation for people with hepatitis B and C, and the delays to compensation payments.
The report identifies multiple failings in both the design and delivery of compensation. It highlights how extensive delays in planning, a lack of transparency, and the exclusion of community members from all significant decisions resulted in the Government “repeating the mistakes of the past.”
The Government and the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) have now responded to the recommendations made in the report. IBCA has accepted all the recommendations in relation to its operations, including establishing a registration process for those who intend to make a claim. The Government has immediately accepted seven of the 15 recommendations made to them, and has committed to consulting on the remaining eight.
Prior to the Government’s response, we met with Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office Nick Thomas-Symonds MP and Cabinet Office officials at our offices. Mr Thomas-Symonds received a tour, spoke with members of our staff, and heard about the work we do to support people with hepatitis C before sitting down to discuss our work relating to the infected blood scandal.
We discussed how the Government could meaningfully listen to and work with the community to shape the future of the compensation scheme, as well as the other Inquiry 2024 recommendations.
World Hepatitis Day
To mark World Hepatitis Day on 28 July, our organisation travelled to Skegness for ‘The Big Splash.’ With everyone jumping into the sea, we made a ‘big splash’ to raise awareness that the job of eliminating hepatitis C as a public health concern is not yet complete.
The day was a fantastic celebration of all the outstanding work that’s been done, but we also want to remind decision-makers that as we push closer to elimination, we cannot take our foot off the gas.
NSP Conference
In September, we co-hosted the NSP Preventing Harm Conference with NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency. The event saw around 150 very engaged attendees come together to discuss challenges in current needle and syringe provision – ranging from accessibility to quality of service.
Presentations featured speakers from across the health and care sector and covered lived experience perspectives of NSP access, current monitoring efforts, examples of outstanding best practice, and findings from our recent mapping exercise of pharmacy-based NSP in England.
It was a fantastic day and a full write-up is on the way!