Chamber and committees

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Disability Equality Forum, which has been allocated funding of over £305,000 (2015-16) by the Scottish Government, works with and supports access panels across Scotland and publishes a Directory of Access Panels.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government does not provide such guidance to local authorities, but has allocated funding of over £305,000 (2015-16) to the Scottish Disability Equality Forum to work with and support access panels across Scotland to strengthen the voice of disabled people at a local level.

In 2011 the Hepatitis C Action Plan was superseded by the Sexual Heath and Blood Borne Virus Framework (2011-15). This framework is currently being updated and the new document will be published in summer 2015. This document will be an update to the existing framework rather than a replacement. In the process of updating the framework we have consulted with, and sought input from, third sector organisations who work directly with patients. The Scottish Government continues to fund and support Hepatitis Scotland as the Scottish national third sector organisation for viral hepatitis. Hepatitis Scotland serves as the voice of people affected by hepatitis and is involved in the work of the framework through a variety of routes, including membership of ministerial and executive groups. The Scottish Government has also received input and feedback from the Hepatitis C Trust, the UK national charity for hepatitis C which is founded and run by people with personal experience of hepatitis C, and from Waverley Care, a Scottish charity delivering services to individuals affected by hepatitis C and HIV.

There has been significant reform to the welfare system by the UK Government since the publication of the first Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework document. HIV Scotland and Hepatitis Scotland published a joint report in 2014 on the impact of welfare reform on people living with HIV and hepatitis in Scotland. The report concluded: “the welfare reforms being implemented at a UK level are not appropriate in a Scottish context, and not at all suitable for people with blood borne viruses. The reforms are causing significant uncertainty and anxiety, worsening the mental and physical health of people in grave need, and adding to the burden carried by specialist services that are already stretched and oversubscribed.”

Under the auspices of the Hepatitis C Action Plan the Scottish Government delivered a national hepatitis C awareness raising campaign in 2010. Through the investment in the action plan we have seen a significant increase in testing, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C in Scotland, and more than 50% of Scotland’s infected population is now diagnosed. The Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework is currently being updated and as part of this we will consider whether or not a further awareness raising campaign may be useful in raising awareness of hepatitis C amongst those who may be at risk. The Scottish Government also funds Hepatitis Scotland, which raises awareness of hepatitis C through a number of channels including around World Hepatitis Day, and other national and local charities including the Hepatitis C Trust undertake their own awareness raising campaigns.

The Scottish Government takes its advice on screening policy from the National Screening Committee, the body of independent experts appointed to provide advice on all screening matters to ministers and the NHS in the four UK nations. The National Screening Committee’s current advice is that screening pregnant women for hepatitis C is not currently recommended. Therefore there are currently no plans to screen pregnant women for hepatitis C.

Through the Hepatitis C Action Plan the Scottish Government invested significantly in treatment and care services for hepatitis C in Scotland. This has led to a more than doubling of the number of people being treated for hepatitis C each year – from around 400 a year to 1,100 a year in 2014. Anyone diagnosed with hepatitis C should be referred to a specialist hepatitis clinician for monitoring and discussions about treatment options. All NHS boards have Managed Care Networks in place to ensure patients infected with hepatitis C are tested, diagnosed and engaged with specialist services.

Through the Hepatitis C Action Plan the Scottish Government invested in the training of NHS staff around hepatitis C. In response to action point 3 of the action plan, NHS Education Scotland (NES) developed Hepatitis C Workforce Education Development: An Outline of Requirements in 2010. The purpose of this document was to support NHS boards in building action plans for facilitating, delivering and evaluating workforce education development for staff. NES also published A Route to Enhanced Competence in Hepatitis C in 2010, which provided staff and their supervisor/manager with a structured approach to assessing, demonstrating and developing their ability to carry out their role in delivering hepatitis C services. NES continues to provide a range of educational materials on blood borne viruses.

In addition the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidance Network has produced clinical guidance on the management of hepatitis C, which was most recently updated in 2013, which also covers primary care.

Throughout the life of the Hepatitis C Action Plan there was a significant increase in testing for hepatitis C within primary care, reflecting an increasing knowledge and awareness of the infection by GP practices.

As a result of the Hepatitis C Action Plan every NHS board was provided with funding to establish a number of leadership posts for hepatitis C. These posts still remain and every NHS board currently has a clinical lead, a prevention lead, an executive lead who is responsible for overall funding and delivery, and a Managed Care Network coordinator who is responsible for ensuring the care pathways across each NHS board are in place. All of these roles are supported by national networks which meet regularly, and the Scottish Government is directly involved, through attendance, at these meetings.