7,500 people, many haemophiliacs, given contaminated blood
- Diseases came from high risk donors including prostitutes and prisoners
- Many victims needed liver transplants and dialysis
- People inadvertently infected partners and children with diseases
- Follows publication of 1,800-page, six-year report into scandal
The Government will apologise this week for what has been called the worst treatment disaster in the history of the National Health Service – the infection of thousands of patients with deadly diseases through use of contaminated blood products.
Following the personal intervention of David Cameron, there will be a formal statement of regret given to the House of Commons, similar to those acknowledging the official failures of Bloody Sunday and the Hillsborough football disaster. This will come after the publication on Wednesday of the 1,800-page Penrose Inquiry, a six-year report into a scandal that has led to more than 2,000 British deaths. About 7,500 people, many of them haemophiliacs, are known to have contracted HIV and hepatitis C after being given imported blood products taken from high-risk donors such as prostitutes and prisoners in the 1970s and 1980s.
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Long fight: Members of the Haemophilia Society delegation delivered a petition to David Cameron, along with lilies to represent people that have died as a result of being given infected blood
Filed under: Hospital, NHS, Uncategorized, blood donors, contaminated blood, haemophiliacs, hepatitis C, HIV, NHS. biggest disaster
