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Dried blood spot testing: pre test counselling essentials and setting up a testing service
Siobhan Fahey, Association of Greater Manchester PCT's Hepatitis C Strategy (Programme Manager), Public Health Directorate, Manchester

Abstract
The Dried Blood Spot Testing (DBST) Implementation Pilot is a project of the Greater Manchester Hepatitis C Strategy. The University of Manchester carried out a full evaluation of the training component of the implementation pilot. This showed that there was sufficient ennoblement on the training, and 52% of drug workers across Greater Manchester were trained. Training resulted in increased knowledge of Hepatitis C (HCV) and confidence to undertake DBST. Knowledge and confidence remained high 6 months after the training. Drug services are carrying out DBST, however lack of baseline data makes comparison prior to project impossible to judge. A number of recommendations are made for future implementation pilots, including increased marketing of project to drug services, employment of Project Manager and a National Screening Programme for testing IDU and ex-IDU for HCV.

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Biography
Before training as a nurse I had a number of years of homelessness, where I came in contact with many people affected by addictions. In 1993 I trained as a nurse in Edinburgh, and then worked in acute medicine for a number of years, including at King's College Hospital, London on the Liver Unit. Here I became concerned about the number of young people with cirrhosis of the due to avoidable illnesses such as Alcoholic Liver Disease and Viral Hepatitis. I moved to Manchester, where I worked in the more preventative side of liver disease, working as an Alcohol and Drug Detox Nurse. I then worked for five years as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Hepatitis C in a post jointly funded by an Calderdale DAAT and Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust. As part of this role I travelled to Pakistan, investigating the epidemic there and how it has affected the population in West Yorkshire. This led to the wonderful opportunity of Programme Managing the first funded Hepatitis C Strategy, across the City Region of Greater Manchester.