The infected blood scandal “could largely have been avoided” and there was a “pervasive” cover-up to hide the truth, an inquiry into the biggest treatment disaster in the NHS has concluded. Deliberate attempts were made to conceal the disaster, including evidence of Whitehall officials destroying documents, the Infected Blood Inquiry found. Patients were knowingly exposed to unacceptable risks of infection, the probe found.
The 2,527-page report documents a “catalogue of failures” which had “catastrophic” consequences, not only among people infected with contaminated blood and blood products, but also their loved ones. More than 30,000 people were infected with deadly viruses while they were receiving NHS care between the 1970s and 1990s, in a disaster described by inquiry chairman Sir Brian Langstaff as a “calamity”. Sir Brian said “the scale of what happened is horrifying”, with more than 3,000 people dead as a result and survivors battling for decades to uncover the truth.
“Lord Winston famously called these events ‘the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS’. I have to report that it could largely, though not entirely, have been avoided,” his report states. It highlights how “the truth has been hidden for decades” and there was evidence of Department of Health documents being “marked” for destruction in 1993.
“Viewing the response of the NHS and of government overall, the answer to the question ‘Was there a cover-up?.