Victims of contaminated blood scandal to get compensation funds for all times
Victims of the contaminated blood scandal will be able to receive compensation payments for life, the Government has announced.
Thousands will have better access to compensation routes after being infected with HIV and Hepatitis C in what is considered the worst treatment disaster in the NHS ’s history. Under changes to a multibillion-pound compensation plan, all those registered with an infected blood support scheme before April 1 next year, including bereaved partners, will receive regular support scheme payments for life.
Victims who were used for research without their knowledge will also be eligible for an extra £10,000, with a higher award of £15,000 for those who underwent treatment as children in a notorious case at Lord Mayor’s Treloar’s College. The updates announced by the Government on Friday follow a review by Sir Robert Francis, the Interim Chair of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), who made 75 recommendations on the current plans.
The overall majority of his suggestions have been accepted in full by ministers. Other commitments include a promise to create more routes for people to apply for compensation, such as for people who have health conditions which are not recognised by the “core” route.
![Infected people, including bereaved partners, will receive regular support scheme payments for life](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article33473645.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_Infected-Blood-inquiry.jpg)
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Some affected people will also be given an increased social impact award recognising the consequences of stigma surrounding the disaster. The Government said it would also raise the social impact payment for people who are likely to have lived in the same household as the infected person for more than two years.
Infected people – both living and dead – will start receiving payments through the new framework by the end of this year, while for others affected by the scandal, payments will begin in 2025, the Cabinet Office said. More than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood products between the 1970s and 1990s – 3,000 of these victims have since died.
Over £1billion has been paid in compensation as of June this year, when further interim payments of £210,000 were made to living infected victims of infected blood. The Government has also committed to interim payments of £100,000 to estates of deceased infected people who were registered with existing or former support schemes and who have not yet been recognised.
Jason Evans, Director of Factor 8 campaign group, said the announcement was “a welcome step as we move closer to final compensation payments beginning to be made”. “Compensation for those impacted by the infected blood scandal has taken far too long and too many have died waiting,” he said. “Today, the picture of what compensation might look like has become clearer, and now it must be delivered.”
He added: “One of the most grim aspects of the infected blood scandal is people across the UK being subject to HIV & Hepatitis C virus infectivity trials, without their knowledge or consent, through infected blood products such as Factor VIII. For those subject to such horrendous behaviour, it is right for the government to acknowledge this specific aspect of the scandal through an additional compensation award.”
Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “This is an important milestone for victims and campaigners who have waited far too long for justice. We know no amount of compensation can fully address the damage to people who suffered as a result of this scandal. This is why alongside the compensation, we must drive forward the wider cultural changes to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”