News

Protecting and improving the nation’s health.

New, more effective treatments are available for the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which can improve outcomes and cure the infection in most people.

To ensure as many eligible people as possible are treated, Public Health England is supporting the NHS in contacting people – and informing their GPs – if they have been diagnosed with HCV in the past but may not have cleared their infection. These patients will be offered a test to determine whether or not they have the active infection and, if so, will then be assessed for treatment.

Some people may be aware of their diagnosis and have cleared the infection spontaneously (1 in 5 people do) or have been successfully treated. However, if anyone is unsure of their HCV status and thinks they may be at risk, they should contact their GP to arrange testing.

Read the PHE and NHSE press release here >  Download FINAL-4 HCV Monitoring Report Nov 18.pdf

For more information on HCV please visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hepatitis-c/ 
You can find the new PHE treatment report here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hepatitis-c-treatment-monitoring-in-england  
You can find assets for the reengagement exercise here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hepatitis-c-patient-re-engagement-exercise 

The IQILS accreditation scheme (Improving Quality in Liver Services) has now been operational for over a year. 2018 has been a busy year for the scheme, with 36 services registered to date.

A full list and map of those registered can be found on the website. Services across Wales, Northern Ireland and England are included in those registered. A few early bird discounts, available for smaller services, kindly supported by BASL, are still available. If your service would be interested in this, please get in touch at askiqils@rcplondon.ac.uk .

The second service training day for registered services is being held in London on 29 January 2019. The day is designed for services that would like to learn more about the accreditation standards and the accreditation process. For further information, please contact the team. 

Following an assessor training day held in September, the first batch of assessors have been recruited and trained. Wales is leading the way in improving liver services and with the help of an initiative funded by the Welsh government, with two peer review visits taking place in November 2018. The scheme is going from strength to strength and our hope is that we have more services registering with the scheme. Registration is open to all liver services across the UK.

For further information, please visit the IQILS website www.iqils.org  or email askiqils@rcplondon.ac.uk  .

BASL has set up a number of Special Interest Groups (SIGs), which are linked to the NIHR’s Clinical Research Network (CRN) topic areas. The Wilson’s Disease SIG has been active for one year, with an initial lead appointed by the BASL Committee. BASL is now seeking nominations for an elected Lead for this SIG. 

Eligibility requirements

• All nominees should be members of the Wilson’s Disease SIG, as a BASL member or as an associate member of BASL through being a member of the SIG
• Each nominee should have a proposer and seconder, who should also be BASL members or associate members through the Wilson’s Disease SIG
• The initial Lead can stand for election once
• Should a contested election be held, BASL / Wilson’s Disease SIG members may vote in this
• The elected Lead will serve for two years, when there will be a further election.

Nomination process

• Please send nominations to the BASL Secretariat at Samantha@basl.org.uk  by 17:00 on 19 November 2018
• If more than one candidate is nominated, the Secretariat will arrange for an election, in which all BASL / Wilson’s Disease SIG members may vote
• Should an election be required, candidates will need to submit a personal statement of up to 300 words
• The successful candidate will be elected by a simple majority of those members voting
• Any queries should be addressed to Samantha@basl.org.uk.

About the Wilson’s Disease SIG

The Wilson’s Disease SIG is linked to the Metabolic CRN topic area. The  SIG comprises a variety of clinical and laboratory specialists from around the UK, Public Health England and patient representation from the Wilson’s Disease Support Group. Its aims are to foster closer collaboration for clinical and scientific research, provide a forum to discuss and disseminate best practice, and act as a stimulus towards Centres of Excellence for Wilson’s disease. Further information may be found here.

The role of the SIG Lead

A SIG is expected to meet at least once a year. The BASL secretariat provides administrative support for SIGs, which includes creating and maintaining SIG member databases, arranging meetings and associated materials, and arranging publicity.

The role of the SIG Lead includes:

• Chairing SIG meetings and co-ordinating actions to be pursued
• Helping to co-ordinate bids for funding for trials and other research, and linking with the NIHR and other funders
• Ensuring the SIG is recognised and supported within the Metabolic CRN topic area
• Reporting on SIG activities to BASL, in particular via liaison with BASL’s Research Subcommittee.

Cancer Analyst for Analysis of the Epidemiology of Cholangiocarcinoma in England

Accountable to: AMMF/ PHE Senior Analyst
Hours: 37.5/week
Duration: One year fixed term
Location: Flexible across national bases but post holder must be able to travel to London on a regular basis
Pay Grade: £27,527 -­ £33,098 (+ London Weighting if appropriate)

AMMF is the UK’s only dedicated cholangiocarcinoma charity, and works closely with Cholangiocarcinoma-­UK (CCA-­UK), a multidisciplinary UK-­wide group interested in all facets of CCA and a Special Interest Group of BASL. AMMF is looking for a dedicated analyst with a strong statistical background and experience of routinely collected health data to work on an important epidemiological project on cholangiocarcinoma. This is an exciting opportunity to work on the most definitive study of cholangiocarcinoma epidemiology to date, in conjunction with AMMF, international experts in cholangiocarcinoma from Imperial College London and Public Health England’s (PHE) National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS).

Please email your CV together with a covering letter (max 500 words) to Helen Morement, CEO, AMMF at: helen@ammf.org.uk. For more information, please see:

Download CCA-Cancer Analyst Advert.pdf

Download CCA-Cancer-Analyst-Job Description_181018.pdf 

or visit AMMF’s website: http://ammf.org.uk/vacancies/. 

Closing date: 16 November 2018 at 5pm GMT

Interviews will be held w/c 3rd December 2018

Public Health England (PHE) has developed the first ever clinically validated whole genome sequencing test for Hepatitis C virus (HCV) as part of a global effort to eliminate HCV by 2025. PHE will be the first place in the UK to offer a clinically validated test which looks at both viral strain and resistance in one test. The previous test PHE used involved two separate processes, one which identifies the strain and another which identifies the virus’ resistance. The new combined test took over 5 years to develop and will halves the current HCV diagnosis period from 20 to 10 days. This enables clinicians to provide patients with quicker access to curative treatment plans, thus reducing complications of the disease. Clinicians will also see a £130 saving per test compared to the existing system. PHE hopes that as the first WGS test for viruses this will serve as a model for other viruses such as HIV.

You can find out more about requesting a test here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/antiviral-unit-avu-reference-services .

The link to the HCV testing request form can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hcv-genotypic-susceptibility-testing-request-form