Clinical review of the impacts of hepatitis C

5. Scottish Government Policy

• In 2008 the Scottish Government launched Scotland’s Hepatitis C Action Plan ( 11, 12 ).
• In the first decade since the launch, over £100 million of additional funding has been allocated to hepatitis C prevention, diagnostic and treatment services for all individuals infected or at risk of infection, regardless of the route of acquisition of infection.
• As a consequence of this investment, the proportion of those chronically infected with hepatitis C who have been diagnosed has increased from 38% to 55% and the number of people treated annually has increased from 450 per year to about 2000 per year ( 5, 6, 13 ).
• The annual number of new presentations of Hepatitis C-related liver failure declined by approximately 30% between 2014 and 2016 – almost certainly as a consequence of the new DAAs being targeted at those at highest risk of progressing to life-threatening liver disease ( 13,14 ).