An independent report is recommending that people in Scotland who were infected with hepatitis C by contaminated blood products provided by the NHS should receive financial compensation and practical help.
Formed in March 2002 by the Scottish Executive, the independent expert group was asked to look at the provision of financial compensation and support for people infected by hepatitis C because of NHS treatment. Before screening of blood, blood products and human tissue was introduced in 1988, it is estimated that as many as 500 people were infected with hepatitis C through exposure to contaminated blood or surgical instruments.
To avoid “injustice” the report is recommending compensation in the form of one-off cash lump sum and the development of better support services for people with hepatitis C. Chair of the independent authority, former judge Lord Ross said that currently people infected with hepatitis C whilst receiving NHS treatment were treated less favourably than those infected with HIV.
The Scottish Executive had been refusing to make compensation payments, claiming that effective screening did not become available until 1991. Scottish health minister Malcolm Chisholm welcomed the report saying the Scottish executive would like “to help” people infected with hepatitis C by NHS treatment, but that there were complex legal, medical and financial considerations, adding, "What we need to do now is think carefully about who needs help, what is the best way to design a scheme and structure payments so that the individuals involved benefit fully, while taking account of the costs of any payment scheme in the light of other health priorities."
People who inject drugs account for most cases of hepatitis C in Scotland and the rest of the UK, and as reported on aidsmap there has been a recent increase in the number of cases of hepatitis C detected in HIV-positive gay men whose only risk activity was unprotected sex.