24/09/2026
🔍 New report: 'Declining Access to Needle and Syringe Programmes and the Threat to Public Health.
Needle and Syringe Programmes (NSP) are one of the most effective public health interventions for preventing the transmission of infections, including hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV, among people who inject drugs. But despite this, our frontline staff and networks have been raising increased concern about the closure of NSP services. To investigate this, we conducted a mapping exercise of pharmacy-based NSP, the most common form of provision across England. Our findings point to:
1️⃣ a system with no clear ownership, little accurate data and limited understanding of local provision.
2️⃣ services closing, but the absence of a national or local reporting framework makes this difficult to clearly evidence.
3️⃣ significant quality challenges, with provision in many instances not meeting national quality guidelines.
If these issues aren’t resolved, we will struggle to maintain the successes we’ve achieved in eliminating hepatitis C. To see what we found in more detail, and what we’re calling for to get NSP back on track, read our new report here ⬇️ ⬇️⬇️
https://www.hepctrust.org.uk/publication/out-of-reach-declining-access-to-needle-and-syringe-programmes-and-the-threat-to-public-health/