British investigation into contaminated blood scandal accuses the Government of covering it up for decades

The long investigation into what has been the biggest scandal in the history of National Health Service British (NHS) has come to an end this Monday. And the findings have confirmed what many already suspected: that the infection of many of the 30,000 people who contracted HIV and hepatitis in the United Kingdom in the last decades of the last century, due to the large-scale use of products derived from contaminated blood , could have been avoided. The report, presented by the head of the investigation, the former judge Brian Langstaffalso concludes that there was a policy of concealment for years by senior officials of the British Government and the NHS.

“[El Gobierno] wrongly described the infection of thousands of people with deadly viruses as inevitable adverse effects of medical treatment. He thought from the beginning that no one could or should be held responsible and that nothing wrong had been done. He assumed, without listening to the patients themselves, that the doctors and the NHS had done nothing wrong and that the risks had been explained”, Langstaff points out in the report, who points out that “saving face and avoiding expenses” was prioritized. to explain why the scandal was covered up for years, even though there was sufficient evidence to show that many of those responsible they knew the risks of these practices.

Import blood from the US

The British health service authorized the use of concentrated plasma as a treatment against hemophilia, a disease that affects proper blood clotting due to the absence of the protein Factor VIII. A new product was then developed, from the plasma of tens of thousands of donors, to make up for the lack of this protein, something that skyrocketed the demand for blood in the United Kingdom in the 1970s and 1980s. To cover this demand, the Government authorized the blood import from the United States, where there were hardly any regulations and where donors, including prisoners and people with drug addiction, received financial compensation in exchange for donations.

Most infections were contracted from contaminated blood products or directly through transfusions. In total, it is estimated that about 3,000 people have died since then, a figure that continues to increase to this day and that has put the families of those affected on a war footing who, in many cases, have died before receiving justice. “There was a deliberate attempt to lie and hide; It wasn’t about one person, but something systemic. This greatly affects what we think as a society and calls into question the trust we place in people,” said the director of the Haemophilia Society, Clive Smith.

“A shameful day”

The first Minister, Rishi Sunak, has acknowledged the errors of the NHS and successive governments in recent decades, including the cover-up, on a day that it has described as “shameful” for the state. “Wanna apologize with all my heart and unequivocally for this terrible injustice. First of all, apologize for the failure in the policy of [donación de] “blood and blood products and the devastating impact on so many lives, including the use of treatments that were known or proven to be contaminated,” Sunak said in Parliament. The prime minister has also apologized for the “repeated failure” of the Government and medical professionals to recognize the damage done, as well as the refusal for years to confront the problem.

The Government has confirmed its intention to start the payment of compensation for victims and their families, as the report recommends. “We will pay full compensation to those infected and those affected by this scandal. Whatever the price, we will pay it”, Sunak said.

The criminal route, in the air

The estimates prepared by the research itself point to a total disbursement close to 10 billion pounds (11.7 billion euros), money that the Government will obtain through loans.

Beyond the compensations, it remains to be seen if the main responsible –both individuals and organizations– will be prosecuted by the criminal route. “This has gone on for so long that it will be very difficult to locate the people who were present at that time, if they are still alive,” said the director of the Tainted Blood victims’ association, Andy Evans. In addition to the prime minister’s apologies, those mainly affected have asked that senior officials from previous governments, as well as those responsible for pharmaceutical companiesalso apologize for a scandal that is already part of the darkest history of British healthcare.