Contaminated blood enquiry

Thank you primrose and Rigsby. Women needing blood transfusions , men injured st. work who needed blood transfusions , children needing transfusions, were treated with infected blood

At the root of it however, is health care being seen as a commodity/business. Companies making factor 8 in the states where all blood is sold not donated, didn't want to know about whether the blood was from a high risk individual. Prisoners had reductions in their sentences for donating, poor people got badly needed cash for their blood - they were all incentivised to lie about their risky behaviour and health problems that made their blood unsafe. The people collecting the blood just wanted as much as possible to sell to increase their profits. In Richard Titmuss' amazing work, The Gift Relationship ( which is how he describes the free donating of blood in the U.K.) he describes a blood collection clinic in NY where homeless men gave blood, then went round the block and joined the queue again - staff knew and did not care in the slightest.

The scale and cover up involved here probably makes it the biggest NHS scandal ever. There was evil intent involved in the cover up and I'm surprised some of you aren't aware of the issue - I've known about it for years - the HS in particular fought and fought and fought but at least they were an identifiable group who were able to represent those particular patients. Sadly many affected people didn't have a condition in common and were easier to lie to, mislead and ignore. Such people were infected through for example blood trsnfusions, surgery etc. The word 'mistake' is totally inappropriate here - clearly some of you are going to be shocked as you learn more. ab is absolutely right in all she posts about this

Andy Burnham has new evidence, he threatened to take it to the police unless a full enquiry was held, a few days later the government agreed ,after refusing for years, to hold an enquiry.

There will cover ups to protect the drug companies and doctors and hospitals but the families will be heard as will the victims who are still suffering

The Hemophilia Society want it, family's want it. It wasn't a mistake, one woman was told several months after her husbands death he was HIV yet this was not disclosed at the time of his death even though he was been treated for Hepatitis , he was Hemophilic

The drugs companies were buying blood from America to make factor 8 , the blood clotting treatment used for Hemophilics

I think it's a good thing and I'm pleased the enquiry is going to consult with families.
I know it's not about the money as compensation has been paid already, but I agree that possible criminal behaviour needs to be brought to light.

We should listen to the surviving victims and ask them whether or not they would like a moral victory. I think they should be perfectly entitled to find out who did what in the cover ups.

But I suppose the trouble with this (my) attitude is that it stops people coming forward when they have made mistakes like this, maybe makes it more likely that they will cover up future mistakes.

Maybe I need to think about this a bit more.

Over two thousand victims are dead

The victims need help right now not some sort of moral 'victory' possibly but not definitely identified years down the line and too late to do them any good.

Jane, medical staff covered up, families were lied to , victims were lied to, drug companies covered up, politicians covered up.

I agree with paddyann. I suppose it was all done without evil intent. Just give them the compensation and don't waste any more time and money on 'inquiries'.

Is this what should have happened at Hilldborough?

these inquiries are generally a waste of time ,think Chilcott or Levison,they cost a fortune ,pay huge amounts to the folk running them and never have a conclusion that involves any blame on anyone .The government should just hold up its hands and take the blame and pay the compensation or it will be another 5 or ten years before the "inquiry" ends and there'll be hardly any survivors left to hear the results