Hepatitis C ‘Follow Me’ Peer Programme and Hep C van extension

The Hepatitis C Trust are a charity with specific expertise regarding hepatitis C. An SLA has existed between NUH and The Hepatitis C Trust for many years. This TQ1 would cover the renewal of a Peer Lead, Peer Van Driver, Peer Programme Manager and a van contract. We use peers to engage hard to reach patients in the community who often experience homelessness, substance misuse and incarceration. These patients are very time consuming. Initial engagement is protracted and these patients will require support throughout their 8-12 week treatment course and require follow-up 12 weeks post completion for a final blood test. Peers are able to relate to patients and represent better value for money than using band 7 nurses (as nurses are freed up to run hospital clinics). This is a contract for a further year taking us up to March 2027. The NHSE elimination target is 2025, however it seems this nationwide target that has not been met, and so we expect the need the Operational Delivery Network and for peers to continue a little longer as the global target is elimination by 2030 (as set by the World Health Organisation). The cost of Peers has been agreed between NHS England and The Hepatitis C Trust.