National Guidelines

Links to national guidelines and documentation relevant to the management of Hepatitis C are provided below for further reading.

SIGN Guideline 92: Management of Hepatitis C (National Guideline)

In 2006, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) published its first guideline on the Management of Hepatitis C. The guideline provides evidenced based recommendations covering all stages of the patient care pathway for infants, children and adults with, or exposed to, Hepatitis C infection.

The guideline will be of interest to all health professionals in primary and secondary care involved in the management of people with Hepatitis C infection.

Scottish Medicines Consortium: Advice on pegylated interferon & ribavirin

The Scottish Medicines Consortium has issued advice on the use of pegylated IFN and ribavirin, for the treatment of children from three years of age, adolescents and adults with chronic hepatitis C. Further details are available from their website

NICE Technology Appraisal Guidance no.75: Interferon alfa (pegylated and non-pegylated) and ribavirin for the treatment of chronic Hepatitis C

Guidance published in 2004 by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), including a quick reference guide and information for patients.

NICE Technology Appraisal Guidance no.106: Peginterferon alfa and ribavirin for the treatment of mild chronic Hepatitis C

Further Guidance published in 2006 by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), including a quick reference guide and information for patients

National Guidelines for Services Providing Injecting Equipment

Scottish Government published new guidelines on best practice for services providing injecting equipment in May 2010. They are intended for people responsible for the planning, commissioning and delivery of these services.

The guidelines concern the provision of needles, syringes and other injecting paraphernalia to people who inject opioids (including heroin and methadone), stimulants and other illicit substances (for example, prescribed drugs injected illicitly). The guidelines were produced, as part of an action arising from the Hepatitis C Action Plan for Scotland: Phase II: May 2008 - March 2011 but they equally fit within the context of the principles outlined in the Scottish Government's Road to Recovery Strategy. For many injectors, engagement with a service providing injecting equipment is a first step towards recovery.