George supports work of Addaction charity
Andrew George MP, top right, pictured with Jason Williams, Bruce Arnott, Helen Hampton and Richard Evans
Andrew George, MP, visited Addaction’s Penzance base at the weekend to learn more about the charity’s work to eliminate Hepatitis C from the county.
Addaction Charity, a pioneer in the field of drug and alcohol rehabilitation. It has set up a new pilot programme in partnership with The Hepatitis Trust. The innovative programme, funded by Abbive1, aims to increase the efficiency of research for Hepatitis C cure to allow the disease to be eradicated from communities worldwide.
The programme, which consists of three interventions aims to create an environment which will lead to a long-term increase in HCV testing and treatment rates amongst people who are currently on drugs or in the recovery process.
Mr George, prior to being elected as MP for St Ives in 1997, held as position as a founding member of a charity which set up Bosence Farm Townshend to support those suffering alcohol and drug addictions. He is now a patron of the charity. He continues to support similar initiatives, seeing how many lives can be turned around by the work being done.
Meeting many of the staff and programme participants, Andrew was impressed by the success rates: “This is important and challenging work. Cornwall is making headway but there’s obviously much more to do. I applaud the work of all of those working in this field.”
One of the long-term hoped outcomes of the pilot programme is that it will translate within the local population and contribute towards the delivery of the ultimate aim of HCV elimination. The pilot’s results are being independently evaluated and are expected in the spring of 2015.