Warwickshire woman wants recognition for all infected blood scandal victims
An estimated 3,000 people have died as a result of the infected blood scandal
A woman from Stratford-upon-Avon says it's finally time the Government recognise all the victims of the infected blood scandal.
Today, the public inquiry into what is dubbed as the biggest treatment disaster in NHS history, is due to publish its findings.
More than 30,000 people were infected with HIV and hepatitis C in the 1970s and 1980s by contaminated blood products.
After receiving plasma as part of his treatment for haemophilia, Barrie Dennis from Stratford-Upon-Avon contracted hepatitis B and C, and died in August 2022.
His wife Debra has been campaigning for justice.
She said: “He died at the age of 73. He was infected in 1977, but we weren't told about it until the 90s, and that was by letter. He was always in ill health, but we never thought it was hepatitis C. He was in a lot of pain for a long, long time.”
Around 4,000 people, including surviving infected people and bereaved spouses, had been given “interim” payments of around £100,000 in October 2022.
Debra Dennis said: “I did receive the interim payment. I didn’t want it, it felt tainted to me. But Barrie was happy that the government had finally accepted some form of responsibility. He died shortly after.
She wants to see recognition for all victims today.
The 65-year-old continued: “I don’t believe anyone will end up in a criminal court, although I know some campaigners want that. I would like to see names in the report so I can visual and say, ‘yes they were responsible for this’.”
The Infected Blood Inquiry, which was launched in 2017 by former prime minister Theresa May, is expected to shine a light on how wrongs were done at individual, collective and systemic levels.