World Hepatitis Day 2010

A few months ago I was invited by Petra Wright Scottish Officer for the Hep C Trust to join with them to organise events for World Hepatitis Day (WHD) on 19th May this was to closely involve service users, staff & volunteers from Waverley Care.

The day was not uneventful. It started by my receiving an urgent email from Petra advising that the “Big Red Bus” had broken down & would not be available to attend the planned events at Teviot Square in Edinburgh. This did not deter us and every one remained keen to attend as planned.

The day was well attended by Blood Borne Virus nurses and other support staff who were on hand to offer advice and information to the general public and the many students in the area. Edinburgh’s Lord Provost George Grubb also attended and spoke at length with service users who are extremely knowledgeable of their condition and happy to share there unique experience of living with the virus and going through treatment.

Later in the morning we visited 3 local health centres around the university campus and the Central Mosque were we advised people that it was WHD and dropped off information and posters for them to display.

After a quick liver friendly lunch at the Mosque Kitchen we all headed to Wester Hailes, West Side Plaza were the bus had now been towed to. Unfortunately, it had been parked at the back of the shopping centre & not at the front as previously planned, however, armed with information cards and leaflets we spoke with the shoppers both inside and outside the shopping centre. Again we dropped off info and posters at the local Library, Job Centre, Chai and the council housing department offices, and service users were happy to chat with people about their personal experiences.

We reconvened at the bus in time to meet the Head of West Lothian council who also chatted at length with the service users about their condition.

By 4.30pm we were all exhausted and WHD was over, the service users were particularly tired but after a final cup of tea we headed home, this time on a council bus. We reflected on the challenges of the day, and the general consensus was a successful day was had by all with a great feeling of achievement particularly for those living with the virus who were empowered to share their experiences and felt supported enough to achieve this.