The long road to justice for survivors of contaminated blood scandal

Surviving victims of the infected blood scandal will be awarded interim compensation of £100,000, the government has announced.

By the end of October, the survivors, a group of around 4,000 people, will receive compensation for having been mistakenly infected with blood-borne viruses like HIV and hepatitis C. The partners of deceased victims will also receive the payout, however, the parents and children of victims will currently receive nothing. 

Family members of victims have accused the government of “perpetuating the scandal” by not recognising them, The Guardian said, after a “40-year battle” to win compensation for those affected by the mix-up.

The “urgency of the need” to make the payments was recognised by ministers, with survivors “dying at the rate of one every four days”. 

The interim compensation was awarded on the recommendation of an inquiry which began in 2019 and is set to produce its final report in mid-2023.

What happened?

The infected blood scandal is potentially the “worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS”, said Nick Triggle, a health correspondent at the BBC.

In the 1970s and 1980s, thousands of NHS patients suffering from blood disorders, such as haemophilia, were given contaminated samples of the clotting treatment called Factor VIII, leading to HIV and hepatitis C infections. The treatment was used to enable patients’ blood to clot quicker, avoiding “lengthy stays in hospital to have transfusions”, said the BBC. The contaminated blood products were also administered to people requiring transfusions for operations or childbirth.

The Factor VIII treatment was imported from America and involved pooling together the plasma samples of thousands of different donors, “including some in high-risk groups” for infection with blood-borne viruses “such as prisoners”. 

Up to 6,000 people are known to have been infected after being treated with contaminated blood products, and around 2,400 people have died.

When was the inquiry launched?

The inquiry into the scandal was launched after years of campaigning by victims and their families in 2018 and has been led by former judge Brian Longstaff. Victims called for the inquiry after claiming that “the risks were never explained and the scandal was covered up”.

Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/uk-news/957676/road-to-justice-survivors-contaminated-blood-scandal