Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Health, I present the committee's report entitled The silent disease: inquiry into hepatitis C in Australia together with the minutes of proceedings. I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with that report.

Leave granted.

Hepatitis C is the most prevalent blood-borne virus in Australia, affecting an estimated 230,000 people. Hepatitis C is difficult to diagnose in its early stages and, over time, adversely affects the liver, and may lead to cirrhosis, liver disease and liver cancer. Hepatitis C is Australia's leading cause of liver transplants.

While Australia has one of the highest diagnosis rates for hepatitis C in the world at approximately 80 per cent, it is estimated that 40,000 to 50,000 Australians are unaware that they are living with the disease. Exploring ways in which testing can be delivered in non-hospital settings may increase the diagnosis rate as well as reach people who may not be able to seek medical treatment through traditional avenues. Approximately one per cent of people living with hepatitis C are undergoing treatment at any time. There are many reasons why the treatment rate is low. One is that current therapies are long-term commitments and have varying success rates. Further, the location of treatment services in hospitals can make treatment geographically difficult to access.

From a social perspective, there is a stigma associated with hepatitis C which can act as a disincentive to seeking treatment. As hepatitis C is blood-borne, the majority of transmissions occur due to unsafe injecting practices. There are, however, other means of transmission, including mother-to-child transmission, unsafe tattooing or piercing, or through breakdowns in infection control practices in a medical setting. Transmission can also occur through receipt of unscreened blood product received before 1990.

Raising awareness and understanding about hepatitis C can reduce the stigma associated with the disease. Hepatitis C is a virus carried by many everyday Australians.

The committee recommended several specific information campaigns aimed at different groups. The committee also recommended exploring ways in which the patient experience in general practice could be improved for people living with hepatitis C, through better information provision, improved treatment processes and patient counselling.

Developed in consultation with the state and territory governments, and hepatitis stakeholder organisations, the Fourth National Hepatitis C Strategy identifies priority populations, how actions to address hepatitis C will be implemented and the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders.

The committee found the need for a more robust reporting and review framework to support the Fourth National Hepatitis C Strategy, recommending that the Department of Health develop key performance indicators and annual reporting to measure progress in addressing the challenge of hepatitis C.

Additionally, the committee recommended that targets be set and reported against annually for hepatitis C testing rates.

The committee examined testing and treatment options for several high-risk groups identified in the Fourth National Hepatitis C Strategy, including people who inject drugs, people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people in custodial settings.

The committee recommended that there be an improved focus on reaching migrant communities with high rates of hepatitis C infection, and that all Australian jurisdictions work together to address the high hepatitis C infection rate amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

The committee was also interested in the issue of needle and syringe programs in prisons, and was grateful for the evidence it received. Evidence received will inform the ongoing broader debate in state and territory jurisdictions.

The committee made recommendations concerning people in custodial settings. The committee found inconsistencies between jurisdictions in the way prisoner health data are collected and reported, and recommended the development of a standardised approach to data collection and reporting.

The development of a national strategy for blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections in prisons was also recommended. Thirdly, the committee recommended that the issue of hepatitis C in prisons, including exploring the provision of safe tattooing and barbering services, and the establishment of national standards in prison health delivery be discussed as part of the COAG Health Council process.

I thank all the individuals, community and health organisations and government agencies who contributed to this inquiry. In particular, I thank the many individuals who are living or have lived with hepatitis C who participated in the inquiry. I also thank the committee members for their contribution and participation. I also commend the secretariat, who produced the report under difficult and trying conditions, and with a lack of resources—and I know that people are working on that issue. The secretariat did an extremely good job on this report. It is a report I am proud to commend to the House.

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 39, the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.