Infected blood scandal victims to receive financial support for life

Victims of the infected blood scandal will receive financial support for life, the government has confirmed.

Announcing the updated multi-billion-pound compensation scheme, the government said there would also be additional payments for victims of the scandal who were subjected to “unethical research”.

More than 30,000 Britons contracted HIV or hepatitis after being given contaminated blood and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s in what has been called the worst treatment disaster in NHS history.

A long-awaited report from the Infected Blood Inquiry, published earlier this year, found the scandal, which has so far claimed the lives of around 3,000 people, “could largely have been avoided” and there was a “pervasive” cover-up to hide the truth.

The government has now confirmed regular support scheme payments, including for bereaved partners, will continue for life.

Infected people – both living and dead – will start receiving payments through the new framework by the end of this year, while for others affected by the scandal, payments will begin in 2025, the Cabinet Office said.

Those subjected to “unethical research” without their knowledge, identified by the Infected Blood Inquiry, will receive an additional £10,000 payment.

For those who underwent treatment as children at Lord Mayor’s Treloar’s College in Hampshire, in what has been described as a “particularly egregious” case of unethical testing, that figure will be £15,000.

Pupils at the school were treated for haemophilia using plasma blood products infected with HIV and hepatitis. The Infected Blood Inquiry found NHS clinicians continued with treatments to further their medical research despite knowing the dangers.

Victims include Richard Warwick, a former pupil at the school who was infected with HIV and Hepatitis C.

He told Sky News he welcomes the continuation of support payments, but described the £15,000 figure as a “kick in the teeth”.

“£15,000 is derisory and insulting, and it is just a kick in the teeth for all the victims and the families and parents of the children who didn’t make it out of that school alive,” he said.

Speaking to Sky News earlier this year, he recalled how boys at the school were made to inject the syringes filled with potentially deadly viruses into their own veins.

“We were playing Russian roulette. We didn’t know what we were giving ourselves,” he said.

Stuart Mclean was given factor 8 in 1978 when he was eight years old – treatment he did not need. He learnt that he was infected with Hepatitis C in 2013, when he was 43 years old.

Mr Mclean told Sky News: “I’m happy with the support schemes staying for life but I am hoping for more clarity on the finer details around the compensation payments, including recognising those who were infected with Hepatitis C and may suffer from severe mental health and anxiety issues.”

The compensation updates are based on 74 recommendations put forward by interim chair of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority, Sir Robert Francis KC, to address concerns with current compensation plans.

The government has said it has accepted “the majority” of recommendations from the independent review.

The updates will also see additional routes established for victims to apply for compensation, including allowing people who have health conditions that are not recognised by the “core” route to make a personalised application.

HOW THE BLOOD SCANDAL HAPPENED

More than 30,000 people were infected with deadly viruses while they were receiving NHS care between the 1970s and 1990s.

The UK was not self-sufficient in blood donations in the early 1970s, so the government looked to the US for supplies to meet rising demand.

Batches of Factor VIII – an essential blood clotting protein which haemophiliacs do not produce naturally – started to be imported and used widely to treat the condition.

But much of it had been manufactured with blood collected from prisoners, drug addicts and other high-risk groups who were paid to give blood.

When the plasma was pooled together, it would take just one person carrying a virus to potentially infect an entire batch.

People were infected as donated blood was not tested for HIV until 1986 and Hepatitis C until 1991.

“This is an important milestone for victims and campaigners who have waited far too long for justice,” Paymaster General and minister for the Cabinet Office Nick Thomas-Symonds said.

“The government has listened to the recommendations from Sir Robert Francis KC, heard the strong calls for change from the community and acted.

“We are going to do everything possible to deliver compensation quickly, and in many cases deliver life-changing sums to people infected and affected by this scandal.

“We know no amount of compensation can fully address the damage to people who suffered as a result of this scandal. This is why alongside the compensation, we must drive forward the wider cultural changes to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”

Des Collins, legal adviser to more than 1,000 victims and families involved in the scandal, said they welcomed the updates but questioned the delay in payments to those affected as compared to infected.

They said: “It is clearly good news that the scheme will be up and running by October and ready to receive applications from the infected, both those living and from representatives of those now deceased.

“It is somewhat surprising that those affected will need to wait longer than those infected to make an application but at least there is a guide on timescale.

“We now need to consider the details of the scheme with each of our clients to determine how they navigate the process and claim their entitlement.”