Great Britain
Compensation after blood bank scandal
The British scandal over infected blood supplies should be covered up. photo
© Robert Michael/dpa
More than 30,000 people received contaminated blood in the 1970s and 1980s. Now the government in London is announcing compensation payments.
In the biggest treatment scandal in the British NHS in the 1970s and 1980s, up to 30,000 people received contaminated blood products. More than 3,000 people died after becoming infected with HIV or hepatitis C during blood transfusions or treatments. A report published on Monday denounced the failures of politicians, authorities and doctors. The scandal should have been hushed up. Patients were knowingly exposed to unacceptable risks of infection, the report said.
Those affected are still dying as a result
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had promised “comprehensive compensation”. The government set up an independent authority to audit and pay out payments. Relatives of the victims criticized the payments for coming too late. Two affected people still die every week as a result, as the “Politico” portal reported.
“If you have been infected directly or indirectly from NHS blood, blood products or tissue contaminated with HIV or hepatitis C, or have developed a chronic infection from blood contaminated with hepatitis B, you are entitled to compensation under the scheme,” Minister Glen said . “And if an infected person died but would have been eligible under these criteria, compensation will be paid to their heirs.”