A new NHS screening pilot will potentially provide life-saving treatment for thousands of people living with Hepatitis C.

This is part of the NHS ambition to eliminate the virus by 2030.

The new scheme will begin next month.

The programme will search health records for Hepatitis C risk factors such as historic blood transfusions or those living with HIV to identify people who could have the virus. Those identified will be invited for a review by their GP and further screening if necessary.

Anyone who tests positive for Hepatitis C will then be treated.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates 81,000 people in England are currently living with Hepatitis C. The blood-borne virus infects the liver and if left untreated, it can cause serious and potentially life-threatening damage, leading to cirrhosis, liver failure and cancer. There is also a risk of spreading the disease to others.

Staff are also visiting at-risk communities in specially equipped trucks to test for the virus and carry out liver health checks.

Professor Graham Foster, National Clinical Chair for the NHS England’s Hepatitis C Elimination Programmes, said: “This pilot marks a significant step forward in our fight to eliminate chronic Hepatitis C in England by 2030 by enabling the NHS to use new software to identify and test patients most at risk from the virus – potentially saving thousands of lives.

“Hepatitis C can be a fatal disease which affects tens of thousands across the country but with unlimited access to NHS treatments, innovative patient finding initiatives such as this one, community outreach projects such as liver trucks to detect liver damage on the spot – we will continue to boost the life chances of thousands of patients by catching the virus even earlier”.

Rachel Halford, chief executive of The Hepatitis C Trust, said: “Thanks to the brilliant advances we have seen in Hepatitis C treatment in recent years we have a real opportunity to eliminate the virus as a public health concern in the next few years. However, in order to do so we need to make progress in finding those living with an undiagnosed infection and refer them into treatment.

“That is why the announcement of this new screening programme is such welcome news. Primary care is where we are most likely to find those who have been living with an undiagnosed infection for many years.

“There has been brilliant work to expand testing in a wide range of settings in recent years but we have not yet seen the advances we need to see in primary care.

“The roll-out of this screening programme is therefore another crucial step towards achieving elimination”.