I watched BBC2's Newsnight report, compellingly presented by Susan Watts last night. She had interviewed some of the people involved in this tragedy. If the effect on other viewers was similar to the effect on me, then there will be many people feeling outraged at the appalling risks that health professionals knowingly and avoidably took with the lives and health of haemophilia sufferers and with the happiness and wellbeing of their families. This is a national scandal of monumental proportions, but has been subjected to years of the standard lies/cover-up/evasion that routinely feature in cases of medical negligence and bureaucratic/governmental dereliction of duty. - If the perpetrators and others associated with these horrifying events are still alive, I hope that the inquiry will be able to nail them and that, late in the day as it is, they will suffer condign punishment. And I hope that the government will give generously from taxpayers' money to the innocent victims and the family members who are still alive.
I URGE YOU TO READ THE REPORT. - Here is an extract from it:
"Evidence UK scientists ignored warnings that could have prevented people with haemophilia being given contamined blood has been seen by the BBC.
The Newsnight programme has seen documents suggesting experts were aware of the threat at an early stage, but transfusions were not stopped.
In the 1970s and 1980s, 4,500 UK haemophilia patients were exposed to lethal viruses in blood products.
Two thousand have since died of either Hepatitis C or HIV.
Successive governments have resisted attempts to hold a full inquiry. As a result campaigners have organised a private inquiry which will hold its first hearing on Wednesday. It is generally accepted that many people with haemophilia became infected from supplies of the clotting agent Factor 8 from abroad. "
As I write, there is also a video recording of the programme on the BBC website.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Susan Watts' Newsnight report about blood safety warnings ignored by health professionals administering blood products to haemophiliacs in the 70s/80s
Posted by Willow at 4:13 pm
Labels: Factor 8, haemophilia patients, hepatitis C, HIV, Medical Negligence, Newsnight
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