It has been announced by the Government that a full statutory inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal will be held.
Previously, the Court had allowed for a group litigation order for around 500 claimants to launch a class action, and the victims were previously successful with a High Court ruling allowing them the right to seek damages.
Downing Street have advised that they had response from more than 800 people in relation to the consultation regarding setting up the inquiry.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that:
The inquiry will be conducted under the responsibility of the Cabinet Office rather than by the Department of Health with immediate effect.
We have been absolutely clear of our determination to establish what happened in relation to the contaminated blood scandal of the 1970s and 1980s and to work with families of those affected, and we are now moving forward with that process.
There was a strong view that it should be done away from the Department of Health. We have listened to those views and that’s why it will be conducted under the auspices of the Cabinet Office.
During the 1970s and 1980s, a large proportion of blood products supplied to patients by the NHS was contaminated with HIV or hepatitis C. Around 4,670 patients with haemophilia were infected; over 2,000 have since died from the effects of these viruses. A small number of people with other types of bleeding disorders were also infected.
Those who were infected during this time live with the health effects of the viruses. Many of the victims’ lives have been affected, through loss of career, which resulted in reduction of household income, and long-term impacts on relationships and mental health.
A spokesman for the Haemophilia Society commented
We welcome the Government’s recognition of our concerns about the impartiality challenges the Department of Health faced regarding the contaminated blood inquiry.
We hope that the decision to make the Cabinet Office the sponsor of the now statutory inquiry will be a turning point in helping the victims of this scandal finally get the justice they have long deserved.
We now hope a new and fresh discussion will be launched to establish the chair and terms of reference, which can now include the many groups who, like us, had felt unable to work with the Department of Health when it was so clearly conflicted.
Downing Street has stated that a further announcement regarding the inquiry is expected before the end of the year.
