Hundreds of people across the Humber could be unaware they’re living with Hepatitis C
Nursing teams will take screening to the people as they hit the road with two custom-designed vehicles this month.
NHS Humber Health Partnership has received funding from NHS England to purchase and equip two vans to serve as mobile clinics in the fight against Hepatitis C.
Hull is understood to have one of the highest incidence rates of the blood borne virus in the country, but it is feared many people living with Hepatitis C won’t even know it, as it doesn’t always lead to symptoms.
While the virus is completely curable if caught early, left untreated it can lead to long-term health problems such as liver damage, cirrhosis and cancer; something teams across the Humber region are keen to avoid.
Kasey P, Assistant Business Support Manager for NHS Humber Health Partnership, explains:
“One of our main challenges in tackling Hepatitis C is to promote greater understanding of what it is and how it’s contracted.
“The virus used to be associated more with intravenous drug users, but this picture is changing quickly and we’re seeing a growing number of people who have contracted it by something as straight forward as having a piercing or a tattoo, for example, if equipment hasn’t been properly sterilised. This isn’t what people would generally consider risky behaviour, but any activity where a person comes into contact with another person’s blood, even something as simple as sharing a toothbrush, poses a risk of Hep C transmission.
“There’s also another group of people who are potentially at higher risk, and that is people who were born overseas and likely caught the virus many years ago in their country of birth through no fault of their own. In our local area, we are already supporting a number of people with treatment, predominantly from Eastern European countries, and will be looking to further this work through our mobile clinics.
“For us, it’s really about reaching out to people who may find it hard to access routine health services or who might not be able to afford to travel to appointments, as well as to those who simply don’t know they’re at risk, to offer proactive advice, screening and treatment.”
Most of the service’s patients are people who are taking or have taken drugs in the past, but 1 in every 5 people treated by the team has contracted Hepatitis C in a different way, with medical and cosmetic treatments overseas accounting for a growing number of people accessing the service due to less stringent hygiene measures.
The two vehicles will be staffed by specialist nurses to deliver clinical care, and community engagement leads whose role it is to ensure patients whose lifestyles maybe more chaotic are still able to access testing and receive any necessary treatment, when and where they need it.
While they may look like ordinary vans from the outside, the interior of each vehicle has been fully redesigned and refitted to serve as a mobile clinic. They contain enough space for consultations, blood tests and liver scans, and offer a sterile environment in which to work.
Kim Santos, hepatitis C specialist nurse will be among those going out and about on the vans. He/she says:
“The vehicles serve two main purposes for us; the first is outreach to people who find it difficult or just aren’t used to accessing routine healthcare, and the second is raising the profile of Hepatitis C as a virus which anyone could be susceptible to.
“We have been heavily involved in designing the inside of the vans so they give us the facilities and the space we need to deliver the best possible service. Some of our patients are between homes or move around a lot, so find it easier to attend appointments outside hospital. The vans enable us to take testing and treatment to them, and for some patients this can all be done in one go.
“At the same time, the vans will allow us to go out to more locations, such as health centres, food banks and hostels, and take part in community events, so we can speak to people more generally about their risk of Hepatitis C.
“It’s not a virus that’s talked about a great deal so people aren’t generally as familiar with what it is or the risks it poses. We’re keen to get across that the risk is higher than some people may think, and you don’t have to be engaging in what might traditionally be seen as risky behaviours to put yourself at risk.
“The good news is that Hepatitis C is curable with a course of medication, and if we catch any liver damage early, there’s a good chance this can also be reversed, so it really is best to get checked out.”
The two screening vans are now hitting the roads of North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire, starting in Scarborough, Whitby and York.
If you are concerned about the risk of Hepatitis C and wish to be tested, you can order a free NHS home testing kit which can delivered straight to your door via the NHS website: https://hepctest.nhs.uk/.