Inmates at prison near Wolverhampton test for blood virus hepatitis C

Privately-operated HMP Oakwood situated in Featherstone, near Wolverhampton, is among 19 sites so far to participate in the largest ever prison initiative aimed to hit the 2030 target set by the World Health Organisation(WHO).

Hepatitis C is a blood borne virus which affects the liver and can cause cirrhosis and cancer. It affects an estimated 80,000 people in England and is commonly transmitted mainly due to the sharing of drug-taking items.

Figures from the Hepatitis C Trust show that the prison population has a higher concentration of cases than in the community, with about six per cent of males in prisons and up to 20 per cent of the female prison population affected, compared with 0.7 per cent in the general population.

It can also be spread by sharing toothbrushes, razors, hair clippers and through unprotected intimacy.

Hepatitis C trust prison services director Sean Cox said: “The Hepatitis C Trust’s peer-led program is a successful way to reach the thousands of people that go through the prison system who might have hepatitis C.

"With testing and education workshops conducted by those with lived experience of hepatitis C our peers are able to provide assurance that this disease is treatable and their presence and support can reduce the stigma that often comes with a positive test result. By testing, treating and educating people in prisons, we are on track to reach micro-elimination in this under-served population.”

The effort is the latest step in the National Blood Borne Virus Project and is run in partnership between Practice Plus Group, NHS England, HM Prison and Probation Service and the Hepatitis C Trust. Similar events have so far helped to reduce incidences in 18 prisons.

G4S run Oakwood, in Oaks Drive, finger-prick blood tests will be taken from at least 95 per cent of the 2,000 prisoners over five days carried out by teams from University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. Those who test positive for hepatitis C antibodies will then be tested using a specialist machine, also used to diagnose Covid. Anyone who is positive for hepatitis C will be offered treatment within three days and infection prevention advice.

The facility is among the biggest in Europe.

NHS England's programme head Mark Gillyon-Powell said: “This healthcare partnership has demonstrated that, even during a global pandemic, it is possible to achieve the micro-elimination of Hepatitis C in a defined setting - given the often-short and repeated incarcerations, the priority in prisons is to ensure patients are diagnosed quickly, begin treatment quickly and are supported upon release.”

He added that such action was essential to maintain elimination targets.