Our work in Scotland

The British Liver Trust works across Scotland to:

Increase awareness of liver disease and the steps people can take to improve their liver health
Campaign for early detection, when interventions and lifestyle changes can still be effective in reversing many cases of liver disease
Support patients affected by liver conditions, and their families and carers
Develop working relationships with hospitals, clinicians, GPs and other associated healthcare professionals for the benefit of liver patients

Our ambassadorial work provides a voice for liver patients at key gatherings, including the Scottish Liver Alliance Forum and the Scottish HepatoPancreatoBiliary Cancer Network.

We attend Scottish parliamentary events and are part of cross-party groups on various aspects of liver health.

We attend and provide liver health information for community health events run by local councils and other regional healthcare organisations. We visit employers to hold Healthy Working Lives awareness presentations for employees.

Support groups

This year we have 66 support group meetings scheduled across Scotland.

Patient support groups provide an opportunity to share experiences and offer one another practical as well as emotional support. Attending a support group helps both patients and family members to feel less lonely and isolated and gives attendees confidence to better manage their condition. Support groups empower patients to ask the right questions of their doctors and nurses to make sure they are getting the right treatment and care.

Full details on each group can be found here

Details of upcoming events in Scotland can also be found on our Scotland Facebook group: search Scotland Support Groups British Liver Trust.

Locations of Scottish support groups

We run general liver health support groups in:

Aberdeen
Ayr
Dundee
Edinburgh
Forth Valley
Inverness

We run condition-specific groups in the following locations:

Edinburgh: genetic liver conditions
Edinburgh: Hepatitis C
Edinburgh: pre-and post-transplant patients
Glasgow: Hepatitis C
Glasgow: genetic liver conditions
Glasgow: pre-and post-transplant patients
Renfrewshire: pre & Post-transplant patients

Our work with healthcare professionals

We are joining up existing services, and providing support for liver patients where none existed before. Over the last three years we have created a ‘community of support’ for liver patients by working with hepatologists and liver nurses in liver units across Scotland.

Our patient information publications (https://britishlivertrust.org.uk/publications/) are widely used by clinicians across the country, and in partnership with the RCGP, we have produced a toolkit to support GPs in their quest for early diagnosis of liver disease in a primary care setting.

GPs across Scotland can access the toolkit here: https://britishlivertrust.org.uk/health-professionals/our-work-with-primary-care/#toolkit

Scotland Love Your Liver Roadshow and community events

Each year, we deliver a public awareness roadshow, touring Scotland in our mobile unit.

We take our Mobile Scanning Unit to locations across Scotland, offering members of the public a liver health screener, a free liver scan, a consultation with a liver expert, and free health publications.

Love Your Liver events screen and scan around 100 people a day, and typically 17%-20% of people have indications of liver damage, and were unaware. The campaign reaches thousands through the media, and also raises the profile of our patient support services. All Love Your Liver events are supported by liver consultants and nurses from local hospitals.

Our next roadshow in Scotland will take place in September 2019, and will include visits to Inverness and Dumfries for the first time.

Check the latest roadshow schedule here

Get in Touch

We’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch and email amy.caffrey@britishlivertrust.org.uk if you:

would like further information about our work in Scotland
want to attend a support group
want to join our network of HCP collaboration
are aware of initiatives in Scotland that you think we should be involved with

For fundraising enquiries please contact louise.crook@britishlivertrust.org.uk