£150,000 funding boost for life-saving scheme in Sheffield's A&E
24 September 2025
Press contact | Claudia Blake claudia.blake@nhs.net
A successful emergency department opt-out testing programme, aiding early detection of undiagnosed cases of blood-borne viruses, is to continue in Sheffield's Adult A&E until at least the end of March 2026 thanks to an extra £150,000 of Government funding.
The life-saving scheme, which is currently being piloted in almost 90 emergency departments across the country including Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital, automatically tests anyone aged 16 and over who has a routine blood test in the A&E and the emergency department for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C regardless of symptoms unless they choose to opt out.
This approach helps normalise testing, reduces stigma and ensures those who are unaware of their status receive timely care.
Since its initial implementation in November 2023, the national scheme – which NHS England consider one of its most successful and cost-effective public health programmes – has led to a 40% surge in detection of blood-borne viruses nationally, identifying 7,300 cases of newly diagnosed blood-borne viruses, including more than 1,000 cases of HIV, 4,600 of Hepatitis B and 1,600 of Hepatitis C across the country.
Sheffield’s scheme, introduced in October last year, has so far led to the identification of five patients who were previously undiagnosed with HIV, 23 newly diagnosed with Hepatitis C (18 now treated or on treatment) and 33 newly diagnosed with Hepatitis B (28 now in care). In addition, three previously known patients with Hepatitis C and 11 with known Hepatitis B have been re-linked to care and treatment.
Although these numbers may seem small, they are very significant in terms of reduction of future health complications and prevention of onward transmission of infection and new cases.
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust also has the best uptake of the screening programme in the region, achieving 79.5% uptake on its testing. This compares to a national average of 60% achieved by the 34 sites involved in the initial rollout in the first two years.
Routine testing of HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C also supports people to access the latest and most effective treatment, which in the case of Hepatitis C is curative. For Hepatitis B and C, treatment can reduce the risk of developing serious complications, such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
For HIV, treatment suppresses the virus, allowing people to live a normal life as well as preventing infection from being passed on: if HIV is undetectable; it is un-transmittable.
Dr Rachel Foster, Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Acute Medicine at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“We are delighted to have received this funding to renew delivery of our successful emergency department opt-out testing programme for blood-borne viruses from 1st October 2025 until 31st March 2026. By enabling those from the most deprived communities to know their status, receive the support they need and stay healthy, this initiative is also playing an important role in reducing health inequalities. We have also dramatically altered the lives of those patients with new diagnoses and supported others to return to care. Our success in delivering this scheme has been the result of an excellent partnership between A&E, virology, infectious diseases, The Stonegrove Centre and the research department.”
More than 56,000 blood tests are carried out in Sheffield’s A&E department a year – or 4,670 a month.
Last year, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was one of 46 new sites awarded funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and NHS England as part of an expansion of the initial scheme, which commenced in November 2023.
Posters are available in A&E and the emergency department to inform patients about the testing. If they are not required to have a blood test during their visit, they will not be tested.
All patients will be able to opt out of the testing by speaking to a member of staff. If the test comes back positive, the person will be offered specialist support and a treatment plan put in place for them. Although blood-borne viruses can cause serious illness and complications, these can be largely prevented through early diagnosis, specialist assessment and effective treatment or monitoring.
ENDS
