44462 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health

44462 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health: What progress, if any, has been made in the quarter (January to March 2024) toward the objective ‘Develop and evaluate current and new potential approaches to testing strategies based on a current stocktake of proof of concepts and pilots’ under ‘Focus area 3: Testing and screening’ in the National Hepatitis C Action Plan?

Hon Casey Costello: I am advised that planning was progressed to implement a hepatitis C national prototype project in emergency departments. The intention of the protype is to inform decision making around any future implementation. I am also advised that final planning was undertaken for a project in the Northern Region to test the feasibility of community lab sites as a channel to offer hepatitis C testing. This will include a linkage to care for any positive results.