FRIDAY, 4 DECEMBER, 2020

Photograph attached: Andrew Radley (centre right) with consultant hepatologist Professor John Dillon (centre) and other members of staff involved with the project

Pioneering hepatitis C project wins national pharmacy award

A world-leading collaborative project, which saw NHS Tayside become the first in the world to eliminate hepatitis C, has been recognised at the Scottish Pharmacy Awards 2020.

The Tayside project was announced as the winner of the Innovations in Prescribing, Quality & Efficiency in Scotland Award at the online event.

On World Hepatitis Day in July, NHS Tayside announced that it had met both the World Health Organisation’s 2030 target and the Scottish Government’s 2024 target for reducing prevalence of hepatitis C (HCV).

This achievement was the result of a successful collaboration between NHS Tayside’s pharmacy, community nursing and lab teams, Public Health’s Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Managed Care Network, University of Dundee and third sector partners including the Cairn Centre.

Fifty six community pharmacies across Tayside were trained to test for and diagnose HCV in people who inject drugs, assess them for treatment and deliver direct-acting antiviral drugs.

NHS Tayside Consultant in Public Health Pharmacy Andrew Radley said, “This project was a real team effort by NHS Tayside and our partners. The award recognises the innovative way we have all worked together to overcome barriers to providing excellent care.

“Our community pharmacists worked really well with the hepatitis team and their ongoing relationships with patients helped encourage people into treatment who had not managed before. They tested, assessed and delivered treatment, and the patients never needed to go further than their pharmacy.

“I’m really delighted that this work has made a contribution to the elimination of HCV from Tayside.”

The pioneering project targets people who inject drugs without waiting until they go on to recovery programmes or stop using drugs. This prevents them passing the virus on to others and helps stop the spread of HCV among the population.

Contact:

Louise Wilson

NHS Tayside Communications

(01382) 740718