NEWS Policy makers discuss efforts to tackle Hepatitis C


Patients, policy-makers and experts from around the world have gathered in Glasgow to discuss global efforts to tackle viral hepatitis.


The first World Hepatitis Summit at the SECC is a World Hepatitis Alliance and World Health Organisation event hosted by the Scottish Government and supported by Health Protection Scotland and Glasgow Caledonian University.


Patient groups, Government Ministers, policy-makers and public health experts attended the inaugural meeting, which is the world’s first response to last year’s World Health Assembly Resolution calling for concerted action to reverse the ever- rising death toll from viral hepatitis.


New Global Burden of Disease data presented in Glasgow showed, for the first time, the five year incremental increase in global deaths from viral hepatitis. Viral hepatitis now kills more people than HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria and has become the seventh biggest annual killer globally.


The Summit also discussed the draft


HOW MUCH COULD YOU SAVE WITH ZERODERMA EMOLLIENTS?


President of the World Hepatitis Alliance Charles Gore


WHO Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis. By 2030, the strategy aims to achieve a 90% reduction in new cases of chronic hepatitis B and C and a 65% reduction in hepatitis B and C deaths.


The event also witnessed the launch of the Scottish Government’s updated Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework, which outlined the progress made over the last four years in tackling viral hepatitis,


HIV and sexual health issues. The updated Framework also identifies key emerging issues where more focus is now needed, including the availability of new, highly effective therapies for hepatitis C.


The Framework includes the Scottish Government’s commitment to the elimination of hepatitis C as a public health concern in Scotland, and also sets increased annual treatment targets for hepatitis C in Scotland.


£37m research for technology-assisted health


A pioneering £37 million research project involving the University of Strathclyde could give people more control over their own health and wellbeing with the aid of digital healthcare services.


Initial findings have been published on the progress of the pan-UK programme, called Demonstrating Assisted Living Lifestyles at Scale (dallas), which has been tasked with making such technology-assisted living a reality.


From wearables to smartphone apps, people are being encouraged to self- manage their healthcare and promote their wellbeing proactively by using new technology. Academics will seek to find out if the UK is ready for this approach.


Researchers, from the Universities of Glasgow, Strathclyde and Newcastle, have identified five key challenges and three fundamental issues that should be addressed for future large-scale implementation of digital healthcare tools and services.


Dr Marilyn Lennon, of the University of Strathclyde’s Faculty of Science, said, “There is a lot of excitement


right now about the way mainstream technologies like smartphones and wearables can help us to more independently maintain a healthy lifestyle.


“The dallas programme set out to explore how technology-enabled care can be adopted more widely by both citizens and organisations such as the NHS. The programme explored how to actively engage people in taking control of their own health and wellness and become owners and controller of their own health data and how this data can be shared in useful ways with health and social care professionals so that people can live longer more independent lives.


“Our paper explores what the current barriers are to achieving digital healthcare at scale and initial findings on how the dallas programme worked to shift the paradigm of care in the UK.”


Key challenges


The five key challenges identified were:


■The challenge of establishing and maintaining large heterogeneous, multi-agency partnerships to deliver new models of healthcare;


■The need for resilience in the face of barriers and set-backs including the backdrop of continually changing external environments;


■The inherent tension between embracing innovative co-design and achieving delivery at pace and at scale;


■The effects of branding and marketing issues in consumer healthcare settings; and


■The challenge of interoperability and information governance, when commercial proprietary models are dominant.


By changing from leading branded emollients to the cost effective Zeroderma emollient range, NHS Scotland could save £1 million a year and one Scottish Health Board could save around £200,000 p.a. Zeroderma emollients are similar in formulation to around 50% of currently prescribed emollients and offer cost savings of up to 37%. Many Health Boards and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) have adopted the Zeroderma range onto their formularies and cost savings are being made without compromising on patient care.


To find out how much your Health Board could save visit our “QIPP and emollients” toolkit at www.qipp.trderma.co.uk


Developed by Medicines Management teams it contains everything needed to implement product changes at practice level, as well as a guide to the savings your Health Board could make.


All Zeroderma products are sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) free and are available on prescription. To request samples for patient evaluation, email: zeroderma@thorntonross.com www.trderma.co.uk


Thornton & Ross, Linthwaite, Huddersfield HD7 5QH 01484 842217


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