The government claimed that in addition to the amended multibillion-pound compensation plan, victims of the scandal who were the focus of “unethical research” will also receive additional payouts.
In what has been dubbed the biggest treatment disaster in NHS history, over 30,000 Britons were infected with HIV or hepatitis in the 1970s and 1980s as a result of receiving tainted blood or blood products.
The tragedy that has killed almost 3,000 people to date “could largely have been avoided,” according to a long-awaited report from the Infected Blood Inquiry that was released earlier this year. It also revealed that there was a “pervasive” cover-up to conceal the truth.
The government has now attested to the regular payments under the assistance system.
Payments under the new framework will be made by the end of this year for those who are still alive and the relatives of those who passed away, but compensation for those affected by the scandal will begin in 2025, according to the Cabinet Office.
A further £100,000 will be awarded to those who the Infected Blood Inquiry determined had been unwittingly the subject of “unethical research.”
