More than 30,000 Britons contracted HIV or hepatitis after being given contaminated blood and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s in what has been called the worst treatment disaster in NHS history….reports Asian Lite News
Victims of the infected blood scandal will receive financial support for life, the government has confirmed. Announcing the updated multi-billion-pound compensation scheme, the government said there would also be additional payments for victims of the scandal who were subjected to “unethical research”.
More than 30,000 Britons contracted HIV or hepatitis after being given contaminated blood and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s in what has been called the worst treatment disaster in NHS history.
A long-awaited report from the Infected Blood Inquiry, published earlier this year, found the scandal, which has so far claimed the lives of around 3,000 people, “could largely have been avoided” and there was a “pervasive” cover-up to hide the truth.
The government has now confirmed regular support scheme payments, including for bereaved partners, will continue for life.
Infected people – both living and the families of those who died – will start receiving payments through the new framework by the end of this year, while for others affected by the scandal, payments will begin in 2025, the Cabinet Office said.
Those subjected to “unethical research” without their knowledge, identified by the Infected Blood Inquiry, will receive an additional £10,000 payment.
For those who underwent treatment as children at Lord Mayor’s Treloar’s College in Hampshire, in what has been described as a “particularly egregious” case of unethical testing, that figure will be £15,000.
Pupils at the school were treated for haemophilia using plasma blood products infected with HIV and hepatitis. The Infected Blood Inquiry found NHS clinicians continued with treatments to further their medical research despite knowing the dangers.
The compensation updates are based on 74 recommendations put forward by interim chair of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority, Sir Robert Francis KC, to address concerns with current compensation plans.
The government has said it has accepted “the majority” of recommendations from the independent review. The updates will also see additional routes established for victims to apply for compensation, including allowing people who have health conditions that are not recognised by the “core” route to make a personalised application.
More than 30,000 people were infected with deadly viruses while they were receiving NHS care between the 1970s and 1990s. The UK was not self-sufficient in blood donations in the early 1970s, so the government looked to the US for supplies to meet rising demand.
Batches of Factor VIII – an essential blood clotting protein which haemophiliacs do not produce naturally – started to be imported and used widely to treat the condition. But much of it had been manufactured with blood collected from prisoners, drug addicts and other high-risk groups who were paid to give blood.
When the plasma was pooled together, it would take just one person carrying a virus to potentially infect an entire batch. People were infected as donated blood was not tested for HIV until 1986 and Hepatitis C until 1991.
“This is an important milestone for victims and campaigners who have waited far too long for justice,” Paymaster General and minister for the Cabinet Office Nick Thomas-Symonds said. “The government has listened to the recommendations from Sir Robert Francis KC, heard the strong calls for change from the community and acted. We are going to do everything possible to deliver compensation quickly, and in many cases deliver life-changing sums to people infected and affected by this scandal. We know no amount of compensation can fully address the damage to people who suffered as a result of this scandal. This is why alongside the compensation, we must drive forward the wider cultural changes to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
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