The government has said that it is making “adequate changes” in the compensation scheme for thousands of victims of infected blood scam.
The announcement was made in Parliament two weeks after a huge important report in the payment scheme by the chairman of the public inquiry into the disaster.
Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-SIMSS said that he wanted to restore confidence in those who were “many times down”.
Groups of the victims “welcomed the announcement carefully” but said it was disappointing that some changes were still subject to further consultation.
It is believed that 30,000 people from HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C were infected in the 1970s, 80s and 90s after being given contaminated blood products on NHS.
Inquiry The main report in the scandal published last year, It was found that at that time it was reduced to prevent imports of contaminated blood products from abroad, and that the elements of the scam were covered by health authorities.
Earlier this month, the inquiry chair, Sir Brian Langstaff, 200-follow-up report published After obtaining the “email after email”, the way the government was concerned about the government’s £ 11.8BN compensation scheme.
It was described that the payment was made as “deeply unsatisfactory” and said that the victims were “further damaged” from the way the victims were treated in the last 12 months.
Responding to Parliament, the government said that it would immediately accept seven of the 16 recommendations made by investigation related to the design of the scheme, subject to consultation with the victims with others.
Infected blood compensation Authority (IBCA), which is an weapon-length body, has been established by ministers, said it would accept all 11 recommendations under its remit separately.
The changes being made include:
- A new system will be created, which will allow people to register for compensation instead of waiting to be invited.
- Support payment for widows of those who died in the scam will be restored until their compensation claim is finalized
- HIV-infected people will now be able to claim compensation before the cut-off date of 1982, while before they were unfit.
- The size of a supplemental payment for the victims which were subject to immoral medical research will be reviewed with the type of patient who are eligible
Thomas-Simonds said: “As we move forward, our attention is not only working together to give justice about all the affected, but also to restore the trust in the state that have been disappointed many times.”
The compensation scheme is open to those who were infected and also their family members, including parents, children and brothers, sowing, who can claim compensation in themselves as someone affected by the scam.
Under the old rules, family members who died before their own claim would not have received any compensation.
Now it has been replaced, so if they die before 31 December 2031, their payment can be passed through their property.
The government will also consult on several other issues, in which the scheme recognizes the effect of interferon treatment for hepatitis C, which is associated with serious side effects, and how severe psychological damage has been recognized.
Thomas-Simonds said that the change on top of £ 11.8BN would be £ 1BN already to pay compensation on the syllabus of this Parliament. An update at the total cost will be made in the next autumn budget.
A group representing 1,600 victims and their families, Andy Evans, president of Tented Blood, welcomed the announcement, but said some issues, including compensation levels for Hepatitis victims, were still not properly addressed.
He said, “The government is clearly listening to us. It is a shame that it inquired and participated for taking our concerns seriously, but I hope the statement marks the beginning of a better working relationship,” he said.
“We should now proceed to ensure that this compensation plan provides real justice, as far as money is concerned, for all the victims of this scam.”
