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It’s World Hepatitis Day today (28 July) and at Oxleas NHS, we are supporting the day across our services in a number of ways, to raise awareness of the importance of screening.

Every year, more than a million lives worldwide are lost to hepatitis and this year’s call to action is ‘we’re not waiting’. It is a call to accelerate elimination efforts of viral hepatitis now and the urgent need for testing and treatment.

As this is particularly important within our offender healthcare and forensic acute services, we’re hosting screening opportunities at HMPs Dartmoor and Erlestoke in the South West in early August, working in collaboration with the Hep C Trust.

Sam Allen, Regional Blood Borne Virus (BBV) Nurse, said: “With a range of non-invasive tests available, we need to take every opportunity to offer screening to as many of our patients as soon as possible. It is a real honour to be involved in eliminating Hep C in our prisons, it is made possible by the dedicated work of so many, together: we will make history!”

Kate Williams, Physical Health Nursing Practice Lead with Forensic and Offender Healthcare Services, added: “BBV screening is built into our new patients’ procedures and results take around 10 days. We further screen any patients who make a request because they have concerns about exposure and they have fed back that they are happy with our quick response and the sharing of results with them directly.”

Helen Nicholls, Head of Infection Prevention and Control, said: “Hepatitis infection is silent - most symptoms only appear once the disease is advanced, resulting in a large volume of undiagnosed people living with hepatitis. Healthcare staff can contribute to the prevention of transmission of hepatitis in healthcare settings by ensuring that they are aware of and always adhere to standard infection control procedures.”

• You can show your support for the day on social channels, using the hashtag #WorldHepatitisDay