Victims of one of the NHS’s most catastrophic treatment disasters, involving infected blood and blood products, have voiced their “anguish” over the agonising wait for compensation. The ongoing Infected Blood Inquiry has been met with testimony from those fearing they may not survive long enough to see compensation paid, leaving many feeling “betrayed and disappointed”.
However, the resilience among campaigners remains unshaken, with a firm resolve that they will ‘have justice’ as the inquiry sessions resume. Chairing the inquiry is Sir Brian Langstaff, who has scheduled two days dedicated to probing the government’s response regarding compensation.
Opening the session, Sir Brian said: “The decision to hold these further hearings was not taken lightly. It is no secret that the Inquiry has received letter after letter, email after email, call after call, expressing worries and concerns about how compensation is being delivered.”
He added: “The slowness and uncertainty about when someone might expect to receive compensation are central kernels. They are not, however, the only ones. These matters need to be explored in public.”
Pledging the inquiry’s commitment, Sir Brian affirmed: “The Inquiry will do everything in its power to identify action that can be taken by the Government and by the infected blood in compensation authority to improve the delivery of compensation and to ensure that justice is done.”
The morning session saw a congregation of advocacy groups and individuals directly impacted by the scandal giving evidence, highlighting the human aspect at the center of the health crisis.
Andrew Evans, from the campaign group Tainted Blood, told the hearing: “We have around 2,100 members, all of whom are in a desperate state at the moment since the announcement of the Government’s compensation package and things that have unfolded since.”
Evans, who was infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products during treatment for haemophilia as a child, shared a quote from one of the Tainted Blood group members.
The quote read: “I’m utterly exhausted. The anguish is beyond words. I just want this over.” He stated that victims feel “betrayed and disappointed”, adding: “People have given up on any expectation of receiving anything. They have lost all hope of ever getting justice.”
Evans continued: “It’s a long-held feeling that governments wish to drag the scandal out in order that the longer it goes on, the more people die and the less compensation will need to be paid.”
Gary Webster, who was infected with HIV and hepatitis C when he attended Lord Mayor’s Treloar School in Hampshire (Treloar’s) in the 1970s and 80s, described his experience with the compensation scheme as a “nightmare”.
The 60-year old-said: “I’ve asked around the Treloar’s boys that are amongst us now and their families about how they think the process is going, and the words they come back with were: ‘Despicable, distraught, hoodwinked, betrayed, hurt, forgotten’. People will not get their compensation and a lot of claims will die with them. It’s just too slow, and people won’t get the justice they deserve.”
Carolyn Challis, a campaigner who contracted hepatitis C from blood transfusions during her chemotherapy treatment for lymphatic cancer between 1992 and 1993, said: “We feel gaslit, marginalised and abused by successive governments that purport to care, but evidently do not. We’re suffering from sustained trauma. We should not still be fighting.”
Nigel Hamilton, chairman of Haemophilia Northern Ireland, said: “We are entitled to justice and we will have justice.”
Alan Burgess, another campaigner affected by both HIV and hepatitis C, added: “I can’t believe we are back here today.” Speaking about his interaction with the Cabinet Office and the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), he said: “I’d like to say that they engaged with us, but they didn’t. They talked down to us. They were condescending. They had a scripted answer for everything we had.”
He added: “To be honest with you, it’s almost a waste of time being there – they weren’t going to take any notice of what we said.” Highlighting the dire urgency of the situation, he told how victims are passing away amidst the delay, revealing the loss of one of his friends just weeks earlier.
Mary Grindley, a devoted campaigner of 45 years, expressed her disappointment with the Government’s involvement, stating it was merely a “tick-box exercise”. She added: “In reality, the decisions have been made behind closed doors.”
Mary quit her teaching job in 1991 to care for her husband, John, who contracted HIV and hepatitis C while receiving haemophilia treatment. He sadly passed away from AIDS in 1994 at the age of 41. The 76-year-old grandmother pointed out the injustice, saying: “There are widows who have died who will now get no compensation… I think this is disgraceful.”
Over 30,000 people in the UK were infected with contaminated blood and blood products between the 1970s and early 1990s, resulting in 3,000 deaths and lifelong health consequences for survivors. Although £11.8 billion was allocated in the October budget to compensate victims through the IBCA, as of April 24, only 475 people have been invited to make a claim, with 77 payments made, totalling over £78 million.
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds will be questioned on Wednesday, and IBCA officials will face inquiry lawyers on Thursday.
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