A new authority set up to properly compensate the victims and families of the infected blood scandal is due to start making payments by the end of this year.
The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) was set up after the inquiry in May into the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS concluded that governments, the health service and doctors had repeatedly failed victims. Regulations enacting the compensation scheme were laid out on Friday.
Jason Evans, founder of the Factor 8 campaign group, whose father Jonathan died in October 1993 after contracting HIV and hepatitis C from contaminated blood, described the scheme as a “massive step forward”.
Evans said: “No amount of compensation will ever replace those who died, but this scheme seems fair overall.” He said the key aims of campaigners had been to secure a public inquiry and for a fair compensation scheme to be established. He added: “There can never be a resolution to a scandal like this, but I feel we’ve achieved what we set out to do.”
About 3,000 people died and 30,000 were infected with HIV, hepatitis or both after being given contaminated blood transfusions and products in the 1970s-80s. Many of the deaths were caused by commercial blood products being given to haemophilia sufferers to replace a clotting protein called factor VIII.
While schemes have previously been set up to provide support, many of those affected have received limited compensation or none at all. It has been estimated that the new scheme could cost the government as much as £10bn, but detailed calculations on the overall costs are not yet available.
The government said on Friday that thousands had died because of the scandal, and those infected “sadly continue to die every week”. A spokesperson said: “Lives have been shattered, and justice denied for decades.”
Payouts under the scheme are directly in line with the recommendations made by the infected blood inquiry, chaired by Sir Brian Langstaff. It will be open to both infected people and those affected, predominantly family members.
Under the scheme, awards are made for injury, social impact, suffering caused by infection, cost of care and financial losses. Illustrative total awards across all categories published by the previous government for a living, infected person ranged from £35,500 for a hepatitis infection to up to £2,735,000 for someone with HIV and hepatitis.
A Cabinet Office policy paper on the scheme states: “The government hopes that the scheme will enable victims of infected blood to receive due compensation without the need to go through a court or tribunal process to seek redress.”
Nick Thomas-Symonds, paymaster general and minister for the Cabinet Office, said in a statement on X that he was “incredibly proud that the first law I have signed is the establishment of the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme”.
He added: “I again pay tribute to those who have fought for far too long for justice. The time for action is long overdue.”
The Hepatitis C Trust has raised concerns over the disparities in proposed compensation for sufferers of different diseases. A lawyer for the trust, Susan Lee, said: “We welcome this legislation establishing, at long last, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority [scheme].
“People have waited far too long for this. We are still examining the information released today and awaiting further detail, but remain concerned by the disparities in proposed compensation for people who were given hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV.
“It is vital that the government does not underestimate the catastrophic and wide-ranging impacts that hepatitis can have on people’s lives.”
The amount a patient receives will depend on which disease or diseases they contracted, and their circumstances.
Source: theguardian.com
