Tainted blood public inquiry call over 70 deaths in Wales

The "tainted blood" scandal which led to the deaths of 70 people in Wales should be the subject of a UK public inquiry, a group of AMs has said.

Thousands of people developed Hepatitis C and HIV after being given infected blood in the late 70s and 80s.

In 2015, the Welsh Government announced extra financial support for patients who had received contaminated blood.

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said only the UK government had the power and the information to hold an inquiry.

In Wales, 280 people were infected, leading to 70 deaths.

'Black cloud'

David Thomas, from Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, was infected with Hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood products as a teenager in the 1980s.

He said it has put a "black cloud over my life" for the last 20 years since he was diagnosed.

"Your access to things like life insurance is denied and the compensation that has been offered by the government to date has been adequate at best," he told BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme.

Mr Thomas said he was given a one-off payment of £20,000 in 1990 and a recent revision of the scheme means he receives £3,500 annually, but maintains this is "not enough".

"There is a possibility... I could develop cirrhosis so you have to change your lifestyle," he said.

"Some people are forced out of work due to ill health and are scrabbling around for charity payments when really they should be having meaningful compensation."

He said he "fully endorsed" the calls for a public enquiry, adding: "I think it's the only way we will get to the truth."

What is Hepatitis C?

• a virus that can infect the liver

• can cause serious and potentially life-threatening damage to the liver if left untreated

• usually spread through blood-to-blood contact

• symptoms include flu-like symptoms, loss of appetite and abdominal pain

What is cirrhosis?

• scarring of the liver caused by continuous long-term liver damage

• damage caused by cirrhosis cannot be reversed and could lead to liver failure

• most common causes of cirrhosis in the UK are being infected by Hepatitis C and drinking too much alcohol

• early symptoms include a loss of appetite, nausea and itchy skin while later symptoms include jaundice and vomiting blood

Source: NHS

Labour AM for Cardiff North, Julie Morgan, who is chairwoman of the cross-party group on haemophilia and contaminated blood, raised the issue in the Senedd on Wednesday.

She said UK government support for patients was "not sufficient" and a £10,000 payment to families of someone who had received contaminated blood and since died was "totally inadequate".

"I think that the haemophilia community wants to know why this happened, why blood transfusions weren't stopped when it was well known at that time that there was a real risk of contaminated blood, why did documents go missing?

"There are a lot of questions to be answered and I don't think this issue will ever be laid to rest until there is a full blown public inquiry."

Mr Gething told AMs he backed the call for a UK inquiry, saying: "Only the UK government has access to the information, and the powers for the scope and the depth of an inquiry that is required to help people to get to the truth."

Last January, the UK government proposed increasing the amount of money on offer for those affected.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "The department is more than doubling its annual spend on the scheme for people affected by this tragedy so that we can provide an annual payment to all infected individuals for the first time."