Whether it will commission a review to determine the optimal configuration of services, including treatment for drug misuse, that is requir…

The Scottish Executive has commissioned hepatitis C clinicians, working in association with Health Protection Scotland, to establish a hepatitis C Clinical Database. Data managers have started to enter retrospective and prospective data, held in different clinical settings throughout Scotland, onto a dedicated database. It is anticipated that data will be ready for analysis in late 2005. These data, when examined together with laboratory diagnoses data held at Health Protection Scotland, will allow us to understand better the effectiveness of care pathways relating to hepatitis C positive individuals from different risk groups and will help us to determine the optimal configuration of services for such persons.
A Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network for Hepatitis C has been established to determine evidence-based optimal approaches to hepatitis C care and proposals for a Managed Clinical Network for Hepatitis are also being developed.
On the treatment of drug misuse, the Executive published a summary of our Review of Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Services on 27 October 2004 in the form of an Action Plan which contains several recommendations aimed at Improving Service Quality and Consistency. It is for local Drug Action Teams and constituent partners to plan and deliver the full range of drug treatment and care services in line with identified need and local priorities.