In the 1970s and 1980s around 5,000 people with haemophilia and other bleeding disorders were infected with HIV and hepatitis viruses through the use of contaminated clotting factors, some unwittingly then passing it on to their partners.
Since those times more than 3,000 people have died and of the 1,250 people infected with HIV less than 250 are still alive, these only being alive due to advances in the treatment of their condition which were not available at the time of their original infection.
Also, many people who did not have a bleeding disorder were infected with hepatitis C as a result of blood transfusions during that period. The best estimates we have suggest around 27,000 were infected with hepatitis C, of whom around 10% were still alive and seeking justice as of 2019. This includes residents here in Torbay.
On the 5 April 2023 the Infected Blood inquiry published its report on compensation and redress, with a full debate in the House of Commons held on it. It contains several welcome recommendations and many who have waited decades for justice are now keen to see them quickly accepted by the Government.
During the debate Torbay MP Kevin Foster called on the Government to act where they can and do so by quickly accepting the April recommendations, then coming back to the House with a plan to implement them.
