About the Initiative
Funded by Fast Track Cities Leeds, ‘Don’t Forget About B’ aims to improve hepatitis B awareness, testing and early diagnosis among communities that face the greatest barriers to healthcare.
Working with local cultural organisations, faith groups and community leaders, the initiative provides rapid hepatitis B point-of-care testing in trusted settings across Leeds.
By offering testing in places of worship, community centres, festivals and other familiar locations, the programme helps overcome barriers related to access, stigma, language and limited awareness. It supports earlier diagnosis, strengthens engagement with liver health services and helps ensure that Leeds’s diverse communities are included in the city’s ambition to eliminate viral hepatitis.
Peer Support
A new Peer Support Worker role is being introduced to support this Fast-Track Cities Leeds initiative. The role will help people from underserved communities to:
- understand hepatitis B and how it affects health;
- access testing in trusted community settings; and
- receive support to enter and remain in appropriate care.
Drawing on lived experience and local knowledge, the worker will build trusting relationships, provide clear and culturally appropriate information, reduce stigma and make healthcare easier to access.
Connecting People with Care
The Peer Support Worker will connect people with hepatitis B point-of-care testing and ensure that anyone requiring further support is referred promptly to local NHS services.
Yorkshire Liver Care Operational Delivery Network and other partners, the role will help reach people who may not otherwise engage with mainstream services.
Supporting Leeds’s 2030 Ambition
This community-led approach supports Leeds’s wider ambition to reduce health inequalities and end new viral hepatitis infections and related stigma by 2030. It places trust, understanding and community voices at the centre of hepatitis B awareness, testing and care.
