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A blood bank scandal in Great Britain that left thousands dead is said to have been covered up by government officials for decades. The government speaks out.
London – It is a scandal that is considered the biggest health disaster in the 80-year history of the British health system NHS: For decades, government officials are said to have covered up the fact that tens of thousands of patients in Great Britain received contaminated blood products. Thousands of people died.
An investigation report came to the conclusion on Monday (May 20) that doctors, authorities and government employees probably failed. The government has now announced the first comprehensive compensation payments by the end of the year.
Biggest medical scandal in Great Britain – thousands dead after contaminated blood supplies
The NHS treatment scandal involves medical incidents in the 1970s and 1980s. Up to 30,000 people had received contaminated blood products. More than 3,000 people died after becoming infected with dangerous viruses such as HIV or hepatitis C during blood transfusions or treatments. Those affected were patients who needed a blood transfusion after an accident or an operation, or hemophiliacs who were treated with blood plasma products.
Time and time again, people in positions of power and trust have had the opportunity to stop the transmission of these infections, and they have failed.
The more than 2,500-page report on the cover-up of the scandal was published on Monday by the “Infected Blood Inquiry”. The disaster was no accident, the head of the investigation commission, Brian Langstaff, told journalists: “People trusted doctors and the government to ensure their safety, and that trust was abused.” Germany, meanwhile, struggled with a “critical shortage” of blood supplies last year.
Blood bank scandal in Great Britain: To this day, people die every week as a result
Over decades, various governments have claimed that patients were treated in the best possible way and that blood tests were introduced at the earliest possible point. However, research by the “Infected Blood Inquiry” proved that Ministry of Health documents were destroyed in the 1990s to cover up the scandal. Governments and those responsible in the health sector did not react, even though the risks of transmitting AIDS, for example, had been known since the early 1980s.
The consequences of the scandal continue to the present day. According to Langstaff, patients who suffered “life-destroying” infections from blood transfusions still die every week. Deaths are also expected in the coming years. The consequences are catastrophic not only for the infected people, but also for their relatives.
Prime Minister Sunak calls cover-up of blood bank scandal a “disgrace to the state”
As part of the scandal, the government announced compensation measures for those affected and their relatives on Monday. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak initially apologized to those affected in a speech to Parliament in London. “I’m really sorry,” he said. “Time and time again, people in positions of power and trust have had the opportunity to stop the transmission of these infections and they have failed.” The findings of a report into the scandal are “a disgrace to the British state.”
The first details about what the compensation should look like finally followed on Tuesday. Cabinet member John Glen also told Parliament that many victims would receive interim compensation payments of £210,000 (more than €245,000) over the next three months. He did not give a total. According to media reports, the government has earmarked at least ten billion pounds (11.7 billion euros). Relatives of the victims criticized the fact that the payments came far too late. (nz/dpa/afp)
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