Newham Clinical Commissioning Group – Latent Tuberculosis Infection Screening and Treatment Programme

For many years, the east London borough of Newham has had the capital’s highest rates of tuberculosis – rates higher even than those in some developing countries.

One third of Newham’s young, ethnically diverse population was born overseas, many from countries with high levels of TB, but there has traditionally been a low level of understanding about the condition.

That includes knowledge about latent TB, in which an individual has been infected with the bacteria but does not have an active infection. In around one in 10 of these cases, the individual will develop active tuberculous in the future – which is contagious.

And so in 2014, the CCG launched its latent tuberculosis infection screening and treatment programme. It targets people aged between 16 and 35 who have arrived in the UK in the past five years from one of the countries on a pre-defined high risk list.

Anyone who registers at a GP practice and meets the criteria is screened for LTBI. If the result is positive, the patient has a consultation with the GP and is offered treatment via one of 16 CCG-accredited community pharmacies.

The GP sends an electronic prescription for a three month programme to the chosen pharmacy and, importantly, the pharmacist then dispenses the treatment mostly and monitors progress. The programme is unique in being entirely based in primary care, which is said to mean greater choice for patients as well as reduced costs.

Since the LBTI programme launched, rates of TB in Newham have been steadily falling – from 78.0 per 100,000 in 2014 to 48.1 in 2017.

Read a detailed case study about this project at HSJ Solutions

Finalists

  • Hastings and Rother CCG – Hastings Safe Space
  • London Borough of Newham – The Magpie Project
  • Medway CCG – Involving Medway community development
  • Neighbourhood Midwives – Midwifery continuity of carer pilot
  • Newham Health Collaborative GP federation – Multidisciplinary team service
  • Surrey Downs CCG in partnership with Surrey Medical Network, European Scanning Centre Harley Street and Dorking Healthcare – Community Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic
  • Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership – Pregnancy advice line
  • Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust – Integrating local health, social and voluntary care in South Devon
  • Transforming Cancer Services Team for London – Redesigning primary care management of cancer as a long-term condition

Topics

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