Eliminating hepatitis C: Buckinghamshire’s Drug and Alcohol Treatment Service achieves milestone
Our local Drug and Alcohol treatment service, One Recovery Bucks, has recently achieved a major milestone.
Buckinghamshire Council is excited to announce that our local Drug and Alcohol treatment service, One Recovery Bucks, has recently achieved a major milestone in eliminating hepatitis C virus from its service users.
Hepatitis C is a virus that can affect the liver. The virus is spread through blood-to-blood contact and people who inject drugs are at the highest risk of becoming infected. No vaccine is available, and if left untreated it can result in serious and sometimes life-threatening liver damage. However, the good news is that detecting and treating hepatitis C can prevent liver damage and make sure the infection is not passed on to other people.
One Recovery Bucks has been awarded ‘micro-elimination’ status – meaning that everyone who has previously injected drugs who has accessed the service across the whole of Buckinghamshire has been tested for hepatitis C, and more than 9 in 10 people who have tested positive have either started treatment or cleared the virus naturally.
One Recovery Bucks is the first county-wide service to achieve this nationally, representing a major achievement for Buckinghamshire. In doing so, we are supporting the ambition to eliminate hepatitis C nationally by 2025 – ahead of the rest of the world.
Strong leadership and co-ordination between One Recovery Bucks, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Buckinghamshire Council and the NHS Addictions Provider Alliance has been paramount to this success. The improved patient pathway has reduced the number of tests needed, brought services into Buckinghamshire to avoid longer travel times to Oxford, and has halved the number of appointments patients were required to attend before starting treatment.
This year the use of an NHS mobile outreach screening van has also been secured for Buckinghamshire to increase the testing of at-risk individuals who may not yet be known to One Recovery Bucks by delivering services directly in their communities.
Councillor Angela Macpherson is Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing. She said:
“This is a brilliant achievement, first and foremost for the people in Buckinghamshire who use this service but also for protecting our wider community. I’m extremely proud Buckinghamshire has the first service to be able to reach this status.”
Tracy Braddock, Service Manager at One Recovery Bucks (part of Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust) said:
“I am incredibly proud of our team for all their hard work and dedication to ensure we have reached those in need and achieved micro-elimination ahead of the NHS England target of 2025, ultimately saving lives across Buckinghamshire.”
Dr James Maggs is a Consultant Hepatologist at Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust. He said:
“This is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of everyone’s hard work over the past years.”