Webinar: Session 2: NHS APA 2022 Virtual Conference - Hep C U Later: How we are tackling stigma by NHS APA

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About This Webinar

Welcome to this session for the NHS APA 2022 Virtual Conference.

In this session Deanne Burch, Tony Mullaney and Louise Hansford from the Hep C U Later team will present about how they are tackling stigma across the Hep C elimination programme.

The session will conclude at approximately 11am.

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Presenters

Louise Hansford

Hep C Elimination Coordinator for the South

Louise Hansford is the Hep C Elimination Coordinator for the South. She has worked in substance misuse for over 14 years and is passionate about empowering people to make changes and tackling discrimination. Louise's special interest is in supporting people with Hepatitis C.

This was formalised when in 2012, Louise set up the Hep C Hants P2P project (Peer to Peer) in partnership with The Hepatitis C Trust.

Operating across Hampshire, trained mentors with lived experience of Hepatitis C deliver talks and presentations to peers and professionals with the aim of increasing awareness and testing for Hepatitis C. Since 2012, the project has developed and expanded to incorporate pre and post-test discussions as well as offering on-going support for service users diagnosed with Hepatitis C; testing events in the form of roadshows called, “Love Yourself – Get Tested”; and, on-going support for individuals who have concerns around HCV.

Louise subsequently secured funding to address unmet needs in a rural community and led on 2 sites achieving micro elimination. Louise brings the learning from this to her role within Hep C U Later.

Deanne Burch

Lead for Hep C U Later

Deanne Burch is the Lead for Hep C U Later, an NHS Addiction Providers Alliance and Gilead Sciences innovation project focused on eliminating Hepatitis C. Deanne leads a team of highly specialised practitioners to increase hepatitis C testing, treatment and prevention work within NHS Trusts who provide drug and alcohol services in England, with the ultimate aim of micro-eliminating hepatitis C.

Deanne has an extensive background of working within drug and alcohol services and leading large scale change. Her passion is reducing the health inequalities faced by people who use drugs and alcohol and the continual improvement of services to meet the needs of those who are most disadvantaged. Deanne previously worked as the Clinical Development and Nurse Prescriber Lead for Inclusion (Part of Midlands NHS Foundation Trust) and has also worked in a variety of mental health and learning disability settings.

Deanne is a qualified Mental Health Nurse, graduating with 1st Class Honours from the University of Southampton and a UKPHR Registered Public Health Practitioner. She is an HCV Action Ambassador and an Ambassador for the Fab Academy.

Tony Mullaney

Training and Development Coordinator - Hep C U Later

As a person with lived experience, harm reduction has always been close to my heart, my journey through employment began with volunteering at Birmingham DAAT in 2003 leading on many projects there from a service user involvement perspective. In 2008 I became employed through BDAAT and managed the volunteer and harm reduction training programs delivered to services across Birmingham.

I joined inclusion in 2010 working in the newly commissioned Park House detox and rehab centre. I worked there for 5 years as the admissions manager then in 2015 when the contract changed hands I moved to another Inclusion service at HMP Birmingham as a recovery practitioner.

All through my career I have kept harm reduction at the core of my practice and have lead on many projects in each service I have worked for, including being the naloxone lead at each of them, representing them at local naloxone-harm reduction steering groups.

As a person who has lived with Hepatitis C and successfully completing treatment myself, the Hep C agenda has always been of interest to me, so when the opportunity came to join the Hep CU Later team I was over the moon to be part of the collaborative effort to make history by eliminating the Hepatitis C virus in the UK by 2025 and globally by 2030.

Laura Hughes

Hepatitis C Elimination Co-ordinator

Laura is the new Hepatitis C Elimination Co-ordinator with Hep C U Later. She is extremely excited to be joining this project not only to help with the micro-elimination of Hep C and support all their partners but to raise awareness of better needle exchange provision and education for all patients. She started her career off as an admin and progressed into needle exchange, so harm reduction has always been a passion of hers. From there she was able to work in the criminal justice system, firstly in police custody suites and then in prisons. Here she was able to work with patients to support them on their recovery journeys. She progressed to management within the prisons and has felt privileged to have an active role in the way that services are delivered in order to give the best to our patients.

Danny Hames

NHS APA Chair

Danny Hames has 18 years’ experience working in the public and voluntary sectors, within criminal justice, long terms conditions and the drug and alcohol treatment sector. He has worked as a Practitioner, Operational manager and Head of Development. In September 2018 he became the Head of Inclusion which is part of the Midlands NHS Foundation Partnership Trust. Inclusion is the largest NHS provider of drug and alcohol services in England working in both prisons and the community. Inclusion also provides Sexual Health and Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services. Danny is an accredited PRINCE2 and MSP Practitioner and holds a PG Certificate in Drug and Alcohol Policy and a MA in Voluntary Sector Studies.

Danny initiated and is a founding member of the NHS Substance Misuse Provider Alliance which was founded in 2016, this is a collaboration of thirteen NHS trusts who provide drug and alcohol treatment services with the aim of supporting and developing best practice in the sector, this included, with Collective Voice producing “Improving Clinical Responses to Drug Related Deaths Best Practice Guidelines (April 2017)”. The NHS APA also aims to provide a NHS treatment service voice to the benefit of the sector and as part of this runs annual conferences. The NHS APA currently work in over 50 prisons and 35 community services across England. NHS APA is currently establishing an initiative across 12 NHS trusts in England to eliminate Hepatitis C. Danny is the current chair of the NHS APA.