- Written by Nick Triggle and Jim Reid
- bbc news
image source, Getty Images
Authorities covered up the infected blood scandal after deliberately exposing victims to unacceptable risk. report Say.
The five-year investigation accused doctors, the government and the NHS of infecting patients with HIV and hepatitis.
From 1970 to 1991, more than 30,000 people were infected by contaminated blood products or transfusions.
About 3,000 people have died since then, and many more are likely to die.
Victims said the blood test had been failed “not once but many times” by doctors, the NHS, the government and other people responsible for their safety.
The report said patient safety was not a top priority in decision-making and said the risk of viral transmission through blood and blood products had been known since the start of the NHS in 1948.
Despite this, people were exposed to “unacceptable risks” such as:
- Despite pledges to become self-sufficient, blood products continue to be imported from overseas.That included blood from high-risk donors, including U.S. prisoners and drug addicts who were paid to donate blood.
- that the licensing system failed to recognize that such products were unsafe and should not have been authorized for use;
- In the UK, procurement of blood donations from high-risk groups such as prisoners continued until 1986.
- It took until the end of 1985 to heat-process blood products to eliminate HIV, even though the risks had been known since 1982.
- Dr Spence Galbraith, one of Britain's top infectious disease experts, said in 1983 that all blood products imported from the US should be withdrawn from use in the NHS until the risk of HIV was “clear”. ignored the warning.
- Since the 1970s, there has been a lack of tests to reduce the risk of hepatitis, and after an accurate test was finally found, the United States was one of the last developed countries to begin screening for hepatitis C.
- After the introduction of hepatitis C screening, there was a four-year delay before any attempts were made to trace previously infected people.It is estimated that hundreds of people are still undiagnosed, and the disease may lie dormant for decades.
destruction of documents
Inquiry chair Sir Brian Langstaff described the scale of the incident as “horrific” and said authorities were too slow to respond to the risks.
Regarding the issue of cover-ups, he said a better term to describe it would be “concealing the truth.”
He said there was a lack of openness, investigation and accountability, and there were elements of “total deception”, including the destruction of documents.
But hiding the truth involves not only deliberate hiding, but also the risks of the treatments people receive, what alternatives they have, and, in some cases, they were infected.
Sir Brian said the scandal had destroyed “lives, dreams, friendships, families and finances”, adding that the death toll was still rising week on week.
“This disaster was not a coincidence. The outbreak occurred because those in power – doctors, blood services, and successive governments – failed to put patient safety first,” he said.
The report said the cases include about 380 children with bleeding disorders who became infected with HIV after being given blood products for their symptoms.
Many of them died in childhood or young adulthood, enduring levels of pain and fear that no child or young person should ever have to face.
The report said some people were treated without their or their parents giving informed consent, which it said was unconscionable.
Sir Brian also criticized the delay in calling for a public inquiry, which the then Prime Minister Theresa May first announced in 2017 under political pressure.
He said the investigation was hampered by the fact that it took so long because key people subsequently died or were too weak to provide evidence.
And he said “institutional defense” by the NHS and government had made the damage even worse.
In particular, Sir Brian singled out Professor Arthur Bloom, Director of the Cardiff Haemophilia Centre, whom he regarded as one of Britain's leading haematologists in the 1970s and 1980s.
The report said Professor Bloom's views had “unduly influenced” the government's view of the emergence of AIDS and downplayed the threat to people with bleeding disorders. He passed away in his 1992 year.
Blood test for infected people: Read more
Who was influenced?
Two main groups were involved in this scandal.
One was a person with hemophilia or a similar condition, a rare genetic disorder that prevents blood from clotting properly.
In the 1970s, a new treatment to replace the deficient clotting agents, factor VIII and factor IX, was developed and made from donated human plasma.
The second group affected includes people who received blood transfusions after childbirth, in an accident, or during treatment.
Although the blood used in these patients was not imported, some of it was also contaminated, primarily with hepatitis C.
Sir Brian's two interim reports, published in July 2022 and April 2023, made recommendations on compensation for victims and their families.
The government has announced it will accept a “moral action” seeking compensation, and interim payments of £100,000 each have already been made to around 4,000 survivors and surviving partners.
Ministers promised to address the final compensation issue once the investigation report is published. Total costs could reach billions of dollars.
Clive Smith, from the Haemophilia Society, said the report's findings were “no surprise to our community” that there had been a cover-up.
“The nation and the world now know that there was a systematic attempt by the government, public servants, and health care workers to deliberately lie and cover up.”
He said it was important for the government to act now. “We will not heed the recommendations of a public inquiry and that must stop today.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to apologize later on Monday.
Health Editor Hugh Pym and Senior Producer Chloe Hayward tell the story behind the investigation into infected blood.
