The infected blood public inquiry is to publish its final report on the failings that led to the deaths of more than 3,000 people and ruined many more lives. The report will detail how more than 30,000 haemophiliacs or transfusion recipients were infected with HIV and/or hepatitis C over more than two decades, and is seen as a seismic moment for the victims and their families. Sir Brian Langstaff, the inquiry chair, will share his findings at the Methodist hall in Westminster on Monday after amassing documents and evidence over six years.
The Guardian understands that the report will call for those responsible to face prosecution. The scandal has been described as the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS. People treated by the NHS in the UK between the 1970s and 1990s were exposed to tainted blood through transfusions, including during complications in childbirth, or, in the case of haemophiliacs, given contaminated “ factor VIII ” blood products imported from the US.
Donated blood was not screened for HIV until 1986 and not tested for hepatitis C until 1991. The blood products for haemophiliacs were imported from the US, where people were paid to donate, incentivising donations from those with a high infection risk, such as drug addicts, sex workers and prison inmates. The government will deliver a detailed response to the report later this week, after Rishi Sunak makes an official apology to the victims and their families.
Jeremy Hunt and Keir Starmer have.
