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Infected blood scandal: government agrees to compensation

The Prime Minister has promised that the government will pay comprehensive compensation to those infected and those affected by the infected blood scandal.

Credit: Factor 8

The Prime Minister has apologised for the ‘terrible injustice’ of the infected blood scandal where over 30,000 patients caught HIV and hepatitis while they were receiving NHS care between the 1970s and 1990s. He promised that the government will pay comprehensive compensation to those infected and those affected by the scandal.

It came as the Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry Sir Brian Langstaff, published the Inquiry’s Report which found that most infections could and should have been avoided and it was clear that mistakes were made.

Sir Langstaff said it was astonishing to anyone who reads the report that these events could have happened in the UK.  Also, that “the level of suffering which is difficult to comprehend, still less understand, has been caused, and this harm has been compounded by the reaction of successive governments, NHS bodies, other public bodies, the medical profession and others as described in the report”.

Almost 5,000 people gave evidence to the Inquiry which began in July 2018, of which almost 4,000 of whom were people infected and affected. The aim was to examine why men, women and children in the UK were given infected blood and/or infected blood products as well as the impact on their families. It also looked at the nature of any support provided following infection, questions of consent and whether there was a cover-up.

What was the Infected Blood Inquiry about?

More than 30,000 people in the UK were given treatments infected with HIV and hepatitis C. Some of those unintentionally infected their partners, often because they were unaware of their own infection. Since then more than 3,000 people have died. Around 1,250 people were infected with HIV, including 380 children. Less than 250 are still alive.

In the report, Sir Langstaff made reference to how research was conducted on people without, in many cases, telling them (or in the case of children, their parents) beforehand, or informing them of the risks and whether the research would enhance their treatment or primarily benefit others, and without obtaining properly informed consent. This includes the use of children as “objects of research” at Treolar’s school in Hampshire, a specialist school for people with haemophilia, between 1970 and 1987.

Also in some cases, people were not told  that they were infected and were hereby denied the opportunity to control the progression of their own illness more effectively and to prevent the spread of infection to others close to them.

He added that the report makes clear who is responsible for each of these failings, though in general he can say that responsibility for much lies with successive governments, even though others may share some of it.

Recommendations from the infected blood report

The first volume of the report contains a summary which sets out some of the key failings, followed by an overview which provides a chapter-by-chapter summary. Lessons to be learned for the future are identified, and 12 recommendations made.

The second volume covers people’s experiences and a detailed account of what happened to children with haemophilia treated at Treloar’s. The subsequent volumes explain what happened and why, and then examines the response of government and other public bodies.

The principle recommendation of the report is an immediate compensation scheme. Other recommendations include recognising and remembering what happened to people, such as a memorial dedicated specifically to the children
infected at Treloar’s school and funding for a biannual networking/support event for those infected and affected.

The report also said that the General Medical Council, and NHS Education for Scotland, Health Education and Improvement Wales, Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency and NHS England, should take steps to ensure that those “lessons to be learned” which relate to clinical practice should be incorporated in every doctor’s training. They should look favourably upon putting together a package of training materials, with excerpts from oral and written testimony, to underpin what can happen in healthcare, and must be avoided in future.

Further recommendations were preventing future harm to patients, ending the defensive culture in the Civil Service and government, monitoring liver damage for people who were infected with Hepatitis C, protecting the safety of haemophilia care, finding the undiagnosed, and giving patients a voice.

The pain of NHS staff who used products in good faith

Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of NHS England, said: “We owe it to all those affected by this scandal, and to the thorough work of the Inquiry team and those who have contributed, to take the necessary time now to fully understand the report’s conclusions and recommendations.

“However, what is already very clear is that tens of thousands of people put their trust in the care they got from the NHS over many years, and they were badly let down. I therefore offer my deepest and heartfelt apologies for the role the NHS played in the suffering and the loss of all those infected and affected.

“In particular, I want to say sorry not just for the actions which led to life-altering and life-limiting illness, but also for the failures to clearly communicate, investigate and mitigate risks to patients from transfusions and treatments; for a collective lack of openness and willingness to listen, that denied patients and families the answers and support they needed; and for the stigma that many experienced in the health service when they most needed support.

“I also want to recognise the pain that some of our staff will have experienced when it became clear that the blood products many of them used in good faith may have harmed people they cared for. I know that the apologies I can offer now do not begin to do justice to the scale of personal tragedy set out in this report, but we are committed to demonstrating this in our actions as we respond to its recommendations.”

She said NHS England will continue to work with the Department of Health and Social Care to establish a bespoke psychological support service for those affected, which will be ready to support its first patients later this Summer.

Blood is currently distributed to NHS hospitals by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), which was established in 2005 to provide a national blood and transplantation service to the NHS. NHSBT’s services follow strict guidelines and testing to protect both donors and patients, and are subject to regular inspections by independent regulators.

All donors complete an extensive donor health check questionnaire before each blood donation, with potential donors considered at risk of passing on an infection being asked to defer donating until it is safe for them to do so, and all donations are then routinely tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hepatitis E, human immunodeficiency virus, syphilis and for first time donors, human T-lymphotropic virus, before they are released to hospitals.

author avatar
Alison Bloomer
Alison Bloomer is Editor of Pavilion Health Today. She has over 25 years of experience writing for medical journals and trade publications. Subjects include healthcare, pharmaceuticals, disability, insurance, stock market and emerging technologies.

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