North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust has today launched a new testing programme designed to detect blood borne viruses (BBVs).

The tests will detect patients living with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or both and will be part of the routine blood tests patients attending the A&E department receive.

It means North Mid is one of the only hospitals in London to now be routinely testing all adults in A&E for HIV, Hepatitis B and C.

The new Hepatitis B and C pilot will be built on the existing infrastructure of the HIV testing pilot which has since been made permanent in North Mid’s A&E. The successful pilot identified 23 patients unknowingly living with HIV who would otherwise have had a delay in diagnosis.

It’s an important step for the Trust as the hospital serves a local population with a very high prevalence of Hepatitis B. In 2016, the hospital had the fourth-highest number of Hepatitis B reports out of all London hospitals. London also has the highest rate of acute Hepatitis B infections in the UK.

The introduction of routine testing will increase early diagnosis rates in each borough, reducing morbidity and mortality, and contributing to improving the healthy life expectancy of the population served by North Mid.

It will provide additional opportunities to detect Hepatitis C as 80% of patients are asymptomatic and more than 80% go on to develop chronic infections and liver related complications.

Patients that are found to have either virus will then receive long-term support from clinicians at North Mid.

Dr Emily Cheserem, consultant in Sexual Health and HIV at North Mid, said: “Introducing routine testing for Hepatitis B and C allows us, as a hospital, to target both viruses which affect our local community.

“Early detection of the viruses is key as patients are commonly unaware of their disease until complications and health problems in later life. It’s a fantastic move for North Mid and will mirror the success of our existing A&E HIV testing programme.”