Contaminated blood probe report due

A long-awaited report by a Scottish inquiry into the contamination of blood supplies between 1970 and 1991 is due to be published.

Thousands of people across Britain were infected with Hepatitis C and HIV through NHS blood products.

It has been described as the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS.

Hundreds of those affected were in Scotland, which was the only part of the UK to hold an inquiry.

The inquiry, led by former High Court judge Lord Penrose, has taken six years and cost about £12m.

The first session was held in March 2011 and a total of 60 testimonies were heard.

Protecting patients

It was the first time an inquiry had the power to force witnesses to give evidence.

Its full findings, expected to run over a number of volumes, will be revealed at an event in Edinburgh later.

Lord Penrose will not be present to outline his findings as he is seriously ill in hospital.

The 1,800-page report is expected to decide whether the authorities did enough to protect people from becoming infected.

The inquiry's remit was to investigate how the NHS collected, treated and supplied blood.

Lord Penrose also scrutinised what patients were told, how they were monitored and why patients became infected.

The inquiry was further tasked with identifying any lessons and implications for the future, and making recommendations, but it does not deal with the issue of compensation.

Many of those affected were haemophiliac patients, with the charity Haemophilia Scotland estimating that more than 500 families in Scotland have either lost a loved one to the disaster or are living with the consequences of what happened.

Chairman Bill Wright has compared the scale of the tragedy to any transport or football stadium disaster, saying he believes at least 5,000 people could have been infected across Britain.

He said: "In Scotland alone we estimate there are over 200 deaths. If you multiply that up to the UK then it gives you an idea of the scale of the catastrophe. There is a huge disaster right across Britain."

Delivering flowers

The campaign group TaintedBlood has said a large group of its members will be in Edinburgh for the launch.

It will also have a group delivering flowers, in memory of the victims, to the UK department of health.

The group said that although the Penrose Inquiry focuses on Scottish events and Scottish patients, the outcome is "critically important" for people south of the border, since all the events that Lord Penrose is investigating took place before devolution, under a Westminster government.

The NHS has always maintained that it sought to protect patients in line with understanding at the time, as knowledge of HIV and Hepatitis C was still emerging during the 1980s.

Both the Scottish and UK governments are expected to issue responses to the report following its publication.

There will also be a ministerial statement on the inquiry's report in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Contaminated blood probe report due

Dengan url

http://gayabugarsehat.blogspot.com/2015/03/contaminated-blood-probe-report-due.html

Hidup Bugar