Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that all new prisoners are offered a test for hepatitis C and have rapid access to care.

Public Health England, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service and NHS England introduced ‘opt-out’ testing for blood-borne viruses, including hepatitis C, in prisons in the first National Partnership Agreement published in 2013 with phased implementation through a series of pathfinder prisons in three successive phases. Full implementation across the whole adult prison estate in England was concluded in financial year 2017/18, as described in the 2015 Second National Partnership Agreement. A copy of the National Partnership Agreement between: The National Offender Management Service, NHS England and Public Health England for the Co-Commissioning and Delivery of Healthcare Services in Prisons in England 2015-2016 is attached.

All new consenting eligible adult receptions to prisons in England are now offered a hepatitis C test on an opt-out basis within 72 hours of reception in accordance with published national guidance; this usually occurs at second reception health screening. The standard for patients testing positive for hepatitis C is referral to specialists for assessment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral.