Lack of hep C treatment for N.S. inmates missed opportunity in disease control: advocates

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Health-care practitioners say the lack of treatment options for provincial inmates with hepatitis C is creating inequities in health care and missing an opportunity to control the spread of the disease.

Treatment for non-incarcerated Nova Scotians is publicly available.

Dr. Lisa Barrett is an infectious disease doctor who sees inmates with HIV and hepatitis C at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, N.S.

She said when she sees an inmate with hepatitis C, she advises them about how to maintain a healthy liver and avoid toxins — and then tells them that she can’t offer treatment.