Drugs users in Newcastle offered up to £25 in Greggs vouchers to get tested for hepatitis C

DRUG addicts are going to be offered £25 Greggs vouchers if they get tested for hepatitis C.

The NHS-funded scheme will be rolled out in Newcastle – the Greggs capital of the UK – and will involve users presenting for a blood test.

It is aimed at needle users, who are at high risk of contracting the infectious virus from dirty syringes.

The move has been developed by Gateshead and South Tyneside Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC) and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Addicts will need to post their blood sample to the LPC laboratory for testing, with results then sent to their local pharmacy.

But they have to agree to treatment before chemists can hand them the £25 Greggs voucher, the Pharmaceutical Journal reports.

The LPC polled drug users, who voted for Greggs as their preferred choice of gift card. The vouchers will be subsidised by the hospital trust.

ARE YOU AT RISK? THE SIGNS YOU NEED TO KNOW…

HEPATITIS C is a blood-borne virus that affects the liver.

It can cause inflammation, significant damage and increases the risk of cancer – if left untreated.

Risk factors:

  • if you had a blood transfusion prior to 1992
  • if you inject or have injected drugs in the past
  • exposure to equipment used by barbers and hairdressers that aren't sterilised or cleaned can spread the virus
  • sharing razor blades or toothbrushes
  • tattoos or piercings can increase risk if tools aren't sterilised properly

Symptoms:

Many people with hep C don't show symptoms – hence why doctors urge people at risk to get tested.

For the 25 to 35 per cent of people who do show signs, they include:

  • slight fever
  • fatigue
  • appetite loss
  • abdominal pain
  • nausea and vomiting

About 20 per cent of people will develop jaundice – a yellowing of the skin and eyes.

It's a warning sign that the liver's functions are being affected, as bilirubin (the pigment of bile) builds up in the body.

Symptoms of chronic hep C:

For those living with the condition over a long period of time, the symptoms can be similar to that of liver disease.

Symptoms range from mild inflammation to cirrhosis, and liver cancer.

Other signs include:

  • difficulty concentrating – 'brain fog'
  • poor memory
  • chronic fatigue
  • pain in the abdomen
  • dry eyes, irritable bowel and irritable bladder

For more information visit The Hepatitis C Trust website here.

Sami Hanna, communications officer for the LPC, said they are looking for pharmacies to expand the service "as soon as possible".

He added: "It’s another clinical service in our arsenal, really, so the more clinical services that we’ve got ready and available to us as pharmacists in our practices, the better.”

The NHS is working to eradicate hepatitis C by 2025 – five years before a goal set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Around £4million will be pumped into testing in community pharmacies for needle users between 2019 and 2021 by the government.

Doctors warned this year around 100,000 Brits could be living with hepatitis C – but not realise they have the killer virus.

Newcastle was named the Greggs capital of the UK three years ago with a whopping 29 outlets – the equivalent of 9.9 stores for every 100,000 people.

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