The chairman of the public inquiry into the infected blood scandal, dubbed the most significant treatment disaster in NHS history, is set to release its conclusions. Factor VIII and Factor IX, the blood-clotting therapies created in the 1970s for people with haemophilia, among those with rare genetic disorders, were contaminated with lethal viruses that caused HIV and hepatitis C. At least 30,000 people were infected between 1970 and 1991 by these contaminated blood products and transfusions, and approximately 3,000 have died, with numerous haemophiliacs given infected blood products as part of their treatment, marking the two main groups affected by the scandal.
The scandal is infamous for the scant compensation afforded to those affected and the decades it has required for a public inquiry. The inquiry, called The Infected Blood Inquiry, collected evidence between 2019 and 2023, and its findings will be released by Chairman Sir Brian Langstaff on Monday. The process of transmission of the virus from the US was controversial—blood from high-risk donors such as prison inmates and drug users was used in some treatments. In contrast, some of the transfused blood was also contaminated with hepatitis C, though it was not imported.
The recommendations made by two of Sir Brian’s interim reports, released in July 2022 and April 2023, pertained to compensation for victims and their families, which has been accepted in principle by the British government. Survivors and bereaved families of around 4,000 received interim payouts of £100,000 each. Final compensation is anticipated to run into billions of pounds. Ahead of an expected general election, both Conservatives and Labour pledged on Sunday that irrespective of the outcome of the investigation, compensation for victims would be paid. The Tainted Blood campaign group chairman, Andy Evans, who contracted HIV and hepatitis C as a child through his haemophilia treatment, regarded the report’s publication as a “defining” moment after decades of campaigning, and hoped that it would bring justice to all the victims.
Victims’ families have testified against former and current ministers, including Lord Clarke, health minister in the 1980s, and the current chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, who gave evidence in his former post as health minister, among other witnesses, during the four-year inquiry. Campaigners have discussed the length of time it has taken to conduct public inquiries in the UK, which stands in contrast to countries such as France and Japan, which completed investigations several years ago, and charges were filed against physicians, politicians, and other officials. Although a private inquiry in 2009 funded entirely by donations lacked any real powers, a separate probe in Scotland in 2015 was slammed as a “whitewash” by victims and their families. In 2017, then-prime minister Theresa May ordered a UK-wide public inquiry. The publication of the findings is set for 12.30 BST
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