Success of hepatitis C mass-testing at HMP Durham

A successful hepatitis C mass-testing and treatment event at HMP Durham was spearheaded by Spectrum over an impressive four-day period.

The category B reception prison in Durham city centre houses over 900 adult/young male remand prisoners. Together with HMPPS, the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Operational Delivery Network (ODN) team and The Hepatitis C Trust, Spectrum commenced the mass-testing on March 10.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus (BBV) that causes significant damage to the liver. One of the most common routes of transmission is via drug-sharing equipment; The Hep C Trust states that the prevalence of the disease within prisons is approximately 6%, compared to 0.7% in the community’s adult population.

The teams set out to test using a common method called a High Intensity Test & Treat programme (HITT). Out of the 975 prisoners offered hep C testing, 942 accepted – 96.6%. The completion of HITT, in such a small timeframe and with such a high percentage tested, was a tremendous achievement for everyone involved. This work forms part of the goal set by NHS England, to eliminate hep C in the country by 2025.

Craig Thompson, Spectrum’s Regional BBV Operations Manager, who helped oversee the planning of the event, said, “It was a fantastic team effort over a weekend, resulting in a very successful HITT event. Spectrum, NHS ODN, The Hep C Trust and HMPPS colleagues all worked together to produce a brilliant uptake rate of 96.6%.”

Lee Christensen, National Prison Partnership HITT Manager at The Hep C Trust, said, “The support from the prisoners who had been trained in hep C awareness was absolutely fantastic and contributed to the high numbers tested. The prison should be so proud that they took ownership of the HITT programme.”