P86 Comparing equity of BBV testing and BBV prevalence between male and female prisons in England

<h3></h3> National Health Service England (NHSE) plans to eliminate Hepatitis C (HCV) in England by 2025. Although HCV is the focus of this specific NHSE programme, there is also an opportunity to improve and increase overall blood borne virus (BBV) testing to include Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Equality of healthcare is important for all those who are in prison. The aim of this pilot was to identify any potential differences in the uptake of BBV testing in male and female prisons and to investigate any potential differences in the prevalence of BBVs. To support NHSE in their HCV Elimination Programme, a partnership between Gilead Sciences, Practice Plus Group (PPG) and the Hepatitis C Trust (HCT) was formed in 2019. PPG currently provides healthcare to 52 male prisons and 5 female prisons in England. Three male prisons and three female prisons were selected for this pilot analysis. BBV patient data were extracted from SystmOne (patient record system) for the period Jan 2023 – Dec 2023. These data included the offer and uptake of BBV testing and the number of positive test results for each of the three BBVs. This work was supported by Gilead Medical Scientists. During the reception period (7 days following admission), between Jan 2023 and Dec 2023, the average uptake of HCV antibody testing was 93.9% (male) and 91.5% (female); the average uptake of HBV testing was 94.4% (male) and 89.8% (female) and the average uptake of HIV testing was 91.1% (male) and 90.3% (female). The average prevalence of HCV antibodies was 4.1% in the male prisons and 18.6% in the female prisons; the average prevalence of HBV was 1.1% in the male prisons and 0.5% in the female prisons and the average prevalence of HIV was 0.5% in the male prisons and 2.2% in the female prisons (figure 1). Overall, the uptake and equity of BBV testing in these prisons was relatively high. The uptake of BBV testing was slightly higher in male prisons than female prisons. The averaged prevalence of HCV antibodies was 4 times higher in the female prisons, the averaged prevalence of HBV was 2 times higher in the male prisons and the prevalence of HIV was 4 times higher in the female prisons. This pilot analysis has shown that BBV testing in prisons is important and that, overall, the prevalence of BBVs is higher in the female prisons.