Community Corrections
The Hepatitis Queensland Community Corrections Project is a one-stop-shop hepatitis C clinic available at selected community corrections district offices. For those transitioning from prison to the community, the model offers brief intervention, FibroScans (liver scans), blood testing options and hepatitis C treatment.
Watch our case study about eliminating hepatitis C in an inner-city community corrections district office.
A key challenge facing people leaving prison is the effective linkage to health services in the community. This sometimes includes the transfer of health records and medications and can be a difficult time for people trying to re-establish health care. Initiatives to provide continuity of hepatitis C treatment for prisoners on release from correctional centres is essential yet providing uninterrupted continuity of care in the community is challenging.
Hepatitis Queensland launched the first of its kind, hepatitis C testing and treatment clinic at Redlands Community Corrections in August 2020. Since then, we have expanded the clinic to five additional community corrections locations, including Brisbane Central, Brisbane South, Brisbane North, Mount Gravatt and Wynnum.
The clinic aims to provide people who report to community corrections with easy access to hepatitis C testing and lifesaving medical treatment. A unique aspect of this model is that the clinic operates onsite, so people already reporting or attending a mandatory appointment can access the clinic on the spot.
Many people have known risk factors, have a history of incarceration or are known to be living with hepatitis C but, due to various barriers, have not been able to access testing or treatment.
The free clinics operate as a one-stop-shop for people who report to community corrections.
Each clinic has a GP, a community nurse with FibroScan and access to blood screening for hepatitis C either by Point-of-Care testing (finger prick) or a standard blood test.
We provide our hepatitis C positive patients with a script to commence treatment.
Our community nurse supports our patients during treatment to check on their progress and answer any questions they may have.
Including an onsite hepatitis C clinic at community correction district offices has provided a direct pathway to access testing and treatment and supports people’s willingness to engage in care.
The coordination of health services and community providers promotes positive re-entry outcomes and produced benefits beyond an individual’s health.
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