Blood scandal is worst NHS catastrophe in historical past – one individual dies each 4 days
The contaminated blood scandal was the worst treatment disaster in NHS history. And the biggest scandal is it could have been avoided.
Rob Brown was 11 when he was infected with hepatitis C during a transfusion in 1974. But it was not until 1991 that blood products were routinely screened for the virus.
Some 30,000 people were given contaminated blood during the 1970s and 80s. It has cost one in 10 of them their lives.
The NHS bought batches of human blood plasma from the US. Some came from prison inmates and drug users, infected with hep C or HIV, who were paid to be donors.
The danger posed by such high-risk individuals should have been obvious. But it was compounded by mixing their blood together so entire consignments were contaminated.
This was gross negligence with fatal consequences. Former Health Secretary Andy Burnham said it may even be grounds for corporate manslaughter charges.
After five years of taking evidence, ex-judge Sir Brian Langstaff is due to publish the findings of his infected blood inquiry tomorrow.
It is the moment the victims and their families have been waiting for after being denied justice for so long.
Some interim payments have been made, but it is imperative a full compensation scheme for all is now set up without delay.
And, with campaigners saying one person affected by this scandal dies every four days, there must be no foot-dragging or penny-pinching by ministers over final settlements.
Mum’s victory
Teaching our children to swim only does half the job. They also need to learn water safety.
Beckie Ramsay knows that only too well.
Her son Dylan might still be alive had such training been available in school. But the 13-year-old drowned in 2011 while swimming in a quarry after suffering cold water shock.
Ever since, Beckie has fought for water safety to be a compulsory part of the national curri-culum, arguing that children were only learning enough in swimming lessons to kill them. Now she has won her campaign.
Since Dylan drowned, Beckie estimates 8,000 people have died in open water. Had the Department for Education given water safety the same importance as cycling proficiency sooner, many deaths would have been avoided.
But this shows how tireless campaigning gets results. It’s not just Dylan who would be proud of you, Beckie. We all are.
Song for Sarah
Breast cancer took Sarah Harding from us far too early. But her Girls Aloud bandmates have proved she will not be forgotten.
The first night of their tour included footage of Sarah singing “So here I am…” And for a moment it was as if she had never gone away.
