Congratulations go to the NHS Forth Valley Viral Hepatitis Team which recently received well deserved international recognition at the 2024 INHSU conference for Outstanding Contribution to Models of Care and Programmes for the STEP C Free Project.

The project aim was to show that taking the service out of clinical health settings into communities reached an underserved population.  The Viral Hepatitis Team and colleagues from Hepatitis C Trust, Change Grow Live and Transform Forth Valley have been innovative in delivering healthcare using the skills and experience of peers in community-based venues and have demonstrated this model of care addresses some of the barriers in treating a hard –to-reach population and works for marginalised groups who don’t routinely access healthcare in more traditional ways.

Established in 2009, the annual International Conference on Health and Hepatitis Care in Substance Users welcomes a diverse range of practitioners, researchers, policymakers, advocates, community members, and people with lived and living experience from all over the world, who are invested in delivering healthcare to people affected by substance use.