A “concealed” truth: the public inquiry into the vast contaminated blood scandal which left nearly 3,000 dead in the United Kingdom between the 1970s and 1990s directly implicates the authorities on Monday in the management of this tragedy. For around twenty years, thousands of people suffering from hemophilia or who had undergone surgical operations were contaminated by the hepatitis C virus and HIV after receiving blood transfusions.
“The scale of what happened is horrifying,” describes former judge Brian Langstaff, appointed in 2018 to lead this vast public inquiry, in his report of more than 2,500 pages. After seven years of work, the hearing of thousands of witnesses and the examination of tens of thousands of documents, it concluded that the truth about this tragedy had been “hidden for decades” and that the scandal “could have been largely avoid “.
“This disaster was not an accident. The contaminations took place because those in charge – doctors, blood services and successive governments – did not give priority to patient safety,” insisted Brian Langstaff, quoted in a press release.
“The response of the authorities in place has only worsened the suffering”
Due to blood shortages, the public health service, the NHS, had turned to American suppliers who paid their donors, who included prisoners and members of other groups at significant risk of infection.
“The response of the authorities in place has only aggravated the suffering” of the victims, he adds. The report, into what is considered “the worst medical disaster” in the history of the NHS, lists a long list of criticisms leveled at the authorities.
Heavy responsibility of successive governments
Thus, the health system only informed infected people late, sometimes years later, while the authorities did not withdraw risky blood products when concerns about their quality were raised. The NHS did not sufficiently seek to reduce its imports of blood products from the US, while blood donations in the UK were not adequately monitored.
The report above all denounces the responsibility of successive governments, which were slow to act when the scandal emerged. “Now is the time to nationally acknowledge this disaster and provide fair compensation to all those who have suffered harm,” says Brian Langstaff. Some victims have already received a first compensation of 100,000 pounds in 2022 after the publication of a progress report. But the final cost is due to be announced this week and is expected to run into billions of pounds.
“A memorable day” for the victims
It’s a “memorable day”, reacted during a press conference Andrew Evans, co-founder of the “Tainted Blood” group, hemophiliac and himself contaminated by HIV and hepatitis C at the age of five. “Sometimes we have felt like we were shouting into a void over the last forty years. What is happening today shows us that this can happen in the UK,” he added.
The president of the Heomophilia Society association, Clive Smith, regretted that given the time that has passed, “unfortunately (…) many will not obtain justice”. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is due to speak in Parliament this afternoon about the scandal.