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Victims of what's known as the biggest treatment disaster in NHS history, the infected blood scandal
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have been promised compensation from the UK government after a report into the scandal was released this week
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But the total cost of that compensation is yet to be revealed
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Downing Street said the final figure will depend on how many individuals are compensated
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and that will be revealed at the next fiscal event, which would be the autumn statement if a
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general election isn't called first. It comes nearly six years after the
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infected blood inquiry began investigating accusations that doctors, government and the NHS let patients catch HIV and hepatitis while they're receiving NHS
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care between the 1970s and the 1990s. Since then around 3,000 of the victims have
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died and many who go on to live go on to live with debilitating treatments, health
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conditions and stigma. This week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak responded to the final report
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calling it a day of shame for the British state. At every level, the people and institutions in which
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we place our trust failed in the most harrowing and devastating way. They failed the victims and their
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families, and they failed this country. Now, a multi-billion pound compensation scheme has been announced to be
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paid out to victims and their families by the end of the year
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Both the Conservatives and Labor have committed to paying out this compensation
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regardless of the result of the general election expected later on this year As for the public inquiry it found authorities had exposed victims to unacceptable risks and had covered up the NHS biggest treatment disaster
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So how did this disaster happen in the first place? Well, in the early 1970s, the NHS started using a new treatment for hemophilia
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called Factor 8, which was dubbed a wonder drug. Factor 8 was made by pulling plasma from thousands of blood donors, so one infected donor could taint the whole batch
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But UK supply couldn't keep up with demand, which meant the UK started importing it from the US
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where plasma donations usually came from high-risk groups, like prisoners and drug users, which increased the risk of contamination
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By the mid-70s, evidence showed that hemophiliacs, treated with Factor 8, were more prone to
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prone to hepatitis. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization had warned about these risks in
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1953 and advised against importing plasma. But despite this and warnings in 1982 that HIV could
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be transmitted through blood products, the UK government didn't inform patients who continued using
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the treatment and faced life-threatening risks. The UK inquiry found that risks that were known
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since the 1940s were ignored, leading to years' worth of unnecessary exposure
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Labour leader Sir Kier Stama has also responded, saying Britain failed to protect some of the
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most vulnerable in our country. Here at Cityam, we'd like to know what you make of the report
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And does this latest announcement of compensation go far enough? Let us know your thoughts in the comments
