who is hep c u later?
Hep C U Later is a small team of people making a big difference in their mission to eliminate viral hepatitis. There are different areas of focus within the Hep C U Later programme, with the ultimate aim of eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030, improving, health and saving lives.
If left untreated, the viral hepatitis can cause liver disease, liver cancer and premature death.
Hep C U Later is commissioned by NHS England’s Viral Hepatitis Elimination Programme, and has a joint working initiative with Gilead Sciences for the community drug and alcohol focussed aspect of the programme.
what do
they do?
Hep C U Later currently have four distinct programmes. These programmes have accomplished remarkable work by uniting various organisations across diverse sectors:
-
Programme 1 - The first programme focuses on community drug and alcohol services and began in January 2020. It is an initiative of the NHS Addictions Provider Alliance (NHS APA). The programme aims to micro-eliminate hepatitis C within the drug and alcohol services of the NHSAPA, improve hepatitis B pathways, liver health and harm reduction. It is commissioned by the NHS England Viral Hepatitis Elimination Programme.
-
Programme 2 - The second programme focuses on empowering health and social care professionals with the resources, education and support they need to impact upon viral hepatitis and liver health where they work. A key part of this programme is using proactively communications and engagement to drive change nationally. It is commissioned directly by NHS England.
-
Programme 3 - This third programme focuses on hepatitis B, called ‘Detect and Protect’, and delivers key resources to improve prevention, case finding, and the treatment of hepatitis B and D, ultimately supporting the WHO and NHS England goals of eliminating viral hepatitis ahead of 2030. It is commissioned by Gilead Sciences as part of a Joint Working Agreement.
-
Programme 4 - This programme, called ‘Hep B Gone’, focuses on the development of a national hepatitis B primary care toolkit aimed at giving meaningful tools and resources to primary care, enabling them to effectively tackle hepatitis B. This programme has been made possible by a financial grant from Gilead Sciences Ltd.
“This highlights how NHS Trusts collaborating and working in partnership with organisations from other sectors can amplify the impact NHS services can have on the health and wellbeing of the people it treats and supports to improve their lives”.
- Candie Lincoln, Project Manager
key successes
of the
programme
As of March 2026:
-
41,867 hepatitis C tests across the NHS APA since 2020
-
1,722 resources downloaded in 2024
-
Thousands of printed resources distributed to hundreds of services
-
Hundreds of professionals completed Hep C U Later CPD-accredited training
-
27 NHS APA services reached hepatitis C micro-elimination
-
Since its introduction 1,481 people have accessed the NHSE hepatitis C testing portal through the Hep C U Later resources and website
-
The NHS APA have increased testing every year of the Hep C U Later Programme
key resources and training
Hep C U Later have assembled various resources to help teams reach more people at risk of hepatitis C and to raise hepatitis C awareness. View them here.
Some key resources:
Hep C U Later have also created free online CPD-accredited training modules which can be completed for free online in around 60 minutes. This is an excellent resource for gaining comprehensive knowledge of hepatitis C.
Access the training here.
the team
Hep C U Later is a small but diverse team with extensive personal and professional experience in eliminating hepatitis C. Across the two programmes, the team comprises healthcare, communications, managerial, and data professionals:
-
Deanne Burch, Programme Lead
-
Candie Lincoln, Project Manager
-
Louise Hansford, Hepatitis C Elimination Coordinator (South/London)
-
Laura Hughes, Hepatitis C Elimination Coordinator (Midlands/North)
-
Edward Taylor, Engagement and Communications Officer
-
Robert Fair, Data Analyst
-
Chris Hughes, Data Analyst
-
Tony Mullaney, High Intensity Engagement Coordinator
how hep c u later works
Hep C U Later's primary objective is to support the elimination of hepatitis C in England.
Hep C U Later work nationally to support NHS APA community drug and alcohol services to micro-eliminate hepatitis C through enhancing knowledge and understanding of hepatitis C, outreach, pathway improvement, providing guidance, supporting with testing.
A critical element of support is through providing a deep dive into a service's data to help them gain a greater understanding of who they have left to test and providing a data dashboard to easily present this data all in one place.
The team uses their expertise and experience to assist with testing and treatment events. They have contributed to innovative initiatives, such as clinical outreach vans and pilot projects, aimed at identifying individuals who require testing and treatment which otherwise may never have received it.
Hep C U Later have been highly successful in offering bespoke training sessions, webinars, and practitioner’s forums to help teams gain a deeper understanding of hepatitis C. By utilising past case studies and experiences, they have effectively demonstrated the best practices for micro-eliminating hepatitis C within services.
The team also utilises effective communications and marketing strategies to help spread their message across social media platforms, as well producing and providing resources to support staff and people accessing services.
Hep C U Later have communications and marketing expertise, allowing them to reach new audiences and professionals. Through delivering exhibitions at major conferences, conference abstracts, reaching other organisations who share key content they have achieved a significant reach of professionals.
the NHS England programme
Key successes of the NHS England programme are as follows:
-
The number of people living with hepatitis C has fallen dramatically
-
37% reduction in deaths from hepatitis C
-
52% reduction in the number of liver transplants
-
102% increase in hepatitis C testing in drug services
-
140% increase in the number of people accessing treatment – 74,000 people treated
-
In 2021/2022 – 50% of hepatitis C treatments were given to the most deprived 30% of the population and 80% of hepatitis C treatments were given to the most deprived 50% of the population
latest blogs
