'I will never get closure and I will never get justice' - Co Antrim man speaks out ahead of Infected Blood Inquiry report
The scandal - dubbed the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS - has been the subject of the biggest ever public inquiry in the UK.
The Infected Blood Inquiry is set to publish its final report today.
Thousands of people were given contaminated blood or blood products between the 1970s and 1990s.
The scandal - dubbed the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS - has been the subject of the biggest ever public inquiry in the UK.
Up to 6,000 people with haemophilia and other bleeding disorders were infected with hepatitis and 1,250 of these were co-infected with both hepatitis and HIV.
Of the group who were infected with both hepatitis C and HIV, only around 250 are still alive today.
Co Antrim man, Nigel Hamilton, and his late brother Simon (both haemophiliacs) were infected with hepatitis C after receiving contaminated blood transfusions.
Haemophilia is an inherited disorder where the blood does not clot properly. Most people with the condition have a shortage of the protein that enables human blood to clot, known as Factor VIII.
Nigel Hamilton went for an eye straightening operation for cosmetic purposes when he was 16 years old, (July 11th, 1976). Then, he was told in 1989, that he had contracted hepatitis C, from the eye operation, 13 years prior.
Since then, he has suffered from cirrhosis, encephalopathy and liver cancer as a result.
He says it has had an irreversible and catastrophic impact on his mental and physical health.
Mr Hamilton spoke to CoolFM/Downton exclusively: “It has been a personal challenge to get into reasonably decent health, but you never really do. The catastrophe that this has brought to me, and my life has had a direct impact on my family, career and how I view things going into the future.”
“I discovered, thankfully, that I had cancer of the liver. Thankfully, because that was the only way in which I would get a new liver. After that, I was doing well, but I didn’t realise other issues in relation to the treatment to kill the virus, were going to take a catastrophic impact on me. That was four aneurisms and three brain tumours.”
He spoke about his relationship with his late twin, and of how the infected blood transfusion took so much from them both: “Haemophiliacs can’t do contact sport, so we jumped into a boat, and we rowed together. My twin brother and I rowed very well together… he went on to be an internationals man for Ireland and unfortunately, he then passed away on Christmas day (2023), from the impacts on his system.”
When asked about his hopes for the inquiry, he went on to say: “I will never get closure and I will never get justice. I’ve lost a lot in my life, and I can’t get that back. To have that back would give me justice and give me closure. I had no choices; this was forced upon me like all other victims. It will close a chapter, and maybe give me some peace of mind. This sort of thing can never happen again to any patient group.”
He hopes for a “sense of justice, a recognition and an acknowledgement to the pain and hurt and travesty of justice that we have experienced. The impact on our lives, on our emotional state, our mental state, and on our physical state.”
“I hope that all those victims who have passed will not be forgotten, that their sacrifice and their loss will mean something. Because they are the real victims. That is the important thing, not to forget them.”
“A lot of people have died and won’t see that promise land, it is very sad, but it is almost criminal.”
He hopes lessons will be learned: “This is our NHS, one that should be inclusive, one that should be partnering in treatments, and recognising the rights of those who are made victims before they become victims.”
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