To celebrate World Hepatitis Day and the national
awareness campaign launch Te Manawa Taki – Community
Hepatitis C Service revealed their specialist mobile
hepatitis C pop-up clinic in Huntly today.
The mobile
clinic is a regional first, significantly improving
community access to hepatitis C (hep C) resources by
bringing point-of-care testing and treatment to areas where
it is needed most.
It also has two additional clinic
rooms so Te Manawa Taki Community Hepatitis C Service can
partner with other service providers.
Hep C is a blood
borne virus that causes liver inflammation and can lead to
liver cancer if left untreated. Around 1,000 people contract
hep C and 200 people die from it every year in New Zealand.
Around 45,000 Kiwis are living with the virus, and half of
them may be unaware they have it due to symptoms not showing
for years, or even decades in some cases.
Jo de Lisle,
Hep C Project Manager from Te Whatu Ora, HealthShare, the
shared services agency for the Te Manawa Taki region, says
the mobile clinic will be a gamechanger for detecting locals
living with hep C.
“Bringing hep C testing and
treatment services straight to communities that are at
high-risk will change so many lives for the better. We bring
this free service to the people – they don’t need to go
anywhere,” says Jo.
“A huge thank you to the
Ministry of Health for providing the funding to make this
happen and to Te Whatu Ora – Waikato for arranging the van
fit out – fit for providing a world-class
service.”
Nancy Carey, Community Hep C Nurse
Coordinator for Te Manawa Taki, says the ability to provide
end-to-end care on the doorstep of hep C patients is an
encouraging step forward to eliminating the
virus.
“Amazing curative antiviral treatments have
been a game changer for those living with hep C, and our
clinic on wheels means we can test and treat people where it
is needed most. Treatment lasts for only 8 weeks, is
completely free and has few, if any, side
effects.
“Plus, we collaborate and work alongside
other services who want to partner with us, as the van can
accommodate up to three clinics.”
Additionally, the
launch of the van coincides with the launch of the national
awareness campaign, Stick it to hep C. The campaign released
today on World Hepatitis Day gives a cheeky middle finger to
the virus to raise awareness and encourage New Zealanders to
get an easy, finger-prick test to detect the
virus.
Risk factors for hep C include drug use with
needles, amateur tattoos, time in prison, receiving medical
treatment in a high-risk country, a blood transfusion before
1992, or been born to a mother with hep C.
About
HealthShare:
HealthShare enables health professionals
and organisations in Te Manawa Taki to do what they do best:
provide people living in Te Manawa Taki with high quality
healthcare. It does this through collaborative partnerships,
leading and facilitating change, and building a future
focused organisation.
HealthShare supports the
region’s five DHBs to work together to develop more
innovative and efficient health services. This ensures Te
Manawa Taki is best placed to respond to the changes in
technology and demographics likely to play a significant
role in the future of
healthcare.
© Scoop Media
Discussion about this post