Infected blood inquiry: Parents and children who have lost relatives to get £100,000 compensation
The infected blood scandal affected the lives of tens of thousands of NHS patients who were unknowingly given contaminated blood products between the 1970s and 1991.
Parents who have been bereaved or children who have lost their parents through the infected blood scandal, will now receive an interim payment acknowledging their loss.
It follows the move made in October last year in which the partners of victims and survivors themselves were given compensation payments of £100,000.
It comes as a huge relief to families who had previously felt their loved ones had been ignored.
The scandal affected the lives of tens of thousands of NHS patients who were unknowingly given contaminated blood products between the 1970s and 1991.
Around 2,400 people who were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s died.
Sir Brian Langstaff, chairman of the Infected Blood Inquiry, said the second interim report recognises the deaths of people that "have so far gone unrecognised".
"It is a fact that around 380 children with bleeding disorders were infected with HIV. Some of them died in childhood. But their parents have never received compensation," he said.
"Children who were orphaned as a result of infections transmitted by blood transfusions and blood products have never had their losses recognised. It is time to put this right."
It is recommended that where someone infected died as an adult without a partner or child, the interim payment should be made to their bereaved parents.
However, if there is a bereaved child, the payment will be made to the child.
Where someone infected has died and there is no bereaved partner nor child nor parent, the payment will be made to the victim’s sibling.
A compensation scheme has also been earmarked in the report, in addition to these interim payments.
These detailed recommendations are the second to be outlined since the inquiry into the infected blood scandal began in 2018.
Further recommendations made in this report include the immediate need for psychological support for victims' families and the recognition of chronic Hepatitis B victims.
The government will now review these recommendations, and if approved, the plans will be announced by the Paymaster General.
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