26.07.20
2 minute read
On World Hepatitis Day, 28 July, we are hearing loudly and clearly from Jeff and Paul sharing their experiences of living with hepatitis C and completing treatment. YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-DXq6Zj3kw
Thanks to the Bristol Royal Infirmary’s Hepatology team for collaborating with Bdp on this.
The 2020 theme of World Hepatitis Day is ‘Find the Missing Millions’. Worldwide, 290 million people are living with viral hepatitis unaware. Without finding the undiagnosed and linking them to care, millions will continue to suffer, and lives will be lost. We caught up with Jess Oke, BDP’s Blood Borne Virus (BBV) nurse to hear about BDP’s contribution to finding the ‘Missing Millions’.
Covid 19 has given us a unique opportunity to offer care to vulnerable people under one roof, supporting people who were homeless who were moved off the streets by Bristol City Council into hotels in March as a response to COVID-19. Injecting drug use continues to be the biggest risk factor for Hep C transmission in the UK but street homelessness without drug and alcohol use can also be a risk factor for Hep C. So it’s been our mission to offer a test to all hotel residents, no questions asked. People with positive results are offered treatment straight away and Bdp work closely with Hepatology and the Hep C Trust to ensure people stay on the treatment pathway.
