HEPATITIS C

That this House is concerned that the number of people dying from liver disease caused by hepatitis C has quadrupled in 15 years; recalls that four years ago the Government promised a strategy to help prevent needless deaths and save millions of pounds in emergency hospital admissions; notes that in 2010-11, £22 million was spent on emergency admissions for hepatitis C complications; understands that there are an estimated 160,000 people living with the virus in England and half do not know it; and supports the Hepatitis C Trust which is calling on the Government to end the postcode lottery in treatment by unveiling a national strategy to combat this preventable and curable virus.