Warwickshire has micro eliminated Hepatitis C (Hep C) throughout the county.
In order to get to this point, Change Grow Live, a drugs and alcohol service commissioned by Warwickshire County Council, has worked tirelessly to develop quicker diagnoses and treatment for people living with Hep C across the county.
NHS England is working towards a country wide elimination of Hep C by the end of 2025, something that Warwickshire has already achieved. Known as micro-elimination, which simply means the elimination of Hep C in a specific population through quick and easy diagnosis and treatment.
Cllr Margaret Bell, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health said: “What a great achievement for all of those involved in such groundbreaking work. I would like to extend or thanks to Change Grow Live for the dedication and strive that has led to future procedures in place to continue to help with diagnosis and treatment of Hep C.”
The following data highlights the elimination of Hep C across Warwickshire. Clinics were able to:
- Offer a test to every service user who needed one.
- Ensure that 98 per cent of people with a history of injecting were tested.
- Ensure that 92 per cent of people with current risk factors of Hep C were tested within the past 12 months
- Ensure that 92 percent of people with Hep C were successfully linked into treatment quickly.
Chris Saunders Locality Manager at Change Grow Live, said: Through the dedication of our colleagues & partner agencies and unwavering commitment to client engagement, micro elimination in Warwickshire by CGL has become a testament to teamwork, precision, and continuous improvement. We stayed on top of every detail, ensuring no challenge is too small to tackle and no opportunity for progress is overlooked. Every contact counts!”
Hep C is a virus that can infect the liver. If left untreated, it can sometimes cause serious and potentially life-threatening damage to the liver over many years. Most people with hep C can be cured with few or no side effects through taking a course of anti-viral tablets.
You can become infected with hep C if your blood comes into contact with the blood of an infected person. Some ways the infection can spread include:
- injecting recreational drugs using unsterilised needles
- sharing or personal care items like razors or toothbrushes
- from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby. please note this refers to the following:
- medical treatments in countries with lower levels of hygiene
- tattooing or piercings in unregulated premises
- blood transfusion pre-1996
- through unprotected sex – although this is very rare.
Most infections of hep C in the UK happen in people who inject drugs or have injected them in the past. Therefore, if you have ever injected recreational drugs, it’s important to get tested.
Hep C often does not have any noticeable symptoms until the liver has been significantly damaged. This means many people have the infection without realising it. Symptoms can include feeling tired all the time, stomach ache, feeling and being sick, loss of appetite and flu-like symptoms.
The only way to know for certain if these symptoms are caused by hep C is to get tested. You can order free at-home tests online, you prick your finger to get some blood and then send the blood to get tested. Alternatively, if you are worried you might have hep C from injecting drugs, you can visit one of the Change Grow Live hubs in Leamington Spa, Rugby or Nuneaton.
Change Grow Live is a nationwide charity that helps tens of thousands of people every day. WCC has commissioned the organisation since 2018 to provide drug and alcohol support services to residents across Warwickshire. They offer a full range of treatments and interventions, including the continuation of rigorous hep C testing, designed to support people to take control of their recovery journey and achieve their recovery goals.
For more information about drug and alcohol services in Warwickshire and to get support, visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/alcohol
For more information about hep C, and to order an at home test, visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/hepatitis-c