Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people commenced treatment for hepatitis C in the first six months of financial year 2016-17 in each operational delivery network area.

4,298 people commenced treatment for hepatitis C in the first six months of the current financial year 2016/17.

The table below breaks down this information for each operational delivery network (ODN).

Pathways of care for hepatitis C need to take account of local service needs, existing and planned infrastructure and facilities. NHS England supports ODNs in their work to determine appropriate local pathways, but does not impose national care pathways. ODNs have been incentivised and funded to develop local care pathways that are responsive to local needs.

NHS England invested in a CQUIN (contractual payment for quality) scheme in ODNs first year of operation in 2015/16 and have since expanded the funding which provides incentive based funding for providers to achieve treatment rates by working with local partners to find the best ways to identify and prioritise patients for treatment, which may include supporting outreach service development, something NHS England is supportive of where locally determined. The CQUIN scheme for Hepatitis C ODN lead providers equates to £100,000 per ODN + 0.8% of the overall contracted spend on specialised care for all services at the lead hospital, and is published on the NHS England website.