The final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry was published on Monday, 20 May 2024. This independent public statutory inquiry was established to examine the circumstances in which men, women and children treated by national health services in the United Kingdom were given infected blood and infected blood products.
We know that the report and the following media coverage may mean that patients and the public have concerns about their own health: A new online resource is available for patients and the public to find support services from across the NHS and the Government - https://nhs.uk/infected-blood-support.
Blood is now distributed to NHS hospitals by NHS Blood and Transplant, which was established in 2005 to provide a national blood and transplantation service to the NHS.
Modern safety standards are extremely rigorous and NHS Blood and Transplant's services follow strict guidelines and testing to protect both donors and patients, and are subject to regular inspections by independent regulators and the risk of getting an infection from a blood transfusion or blood products is very low.
All blood donors are screened at every donation and every donation is tested before it is sent to hospitals. Blood services and blood safety has been transformed, not only in terms of technological advances in testing but also in the way donors are recruited and checked they are safe to donate.
Given the time that has elapsed since the last use of infected blood products, most of those who were directly affected have been identified and started appropriate treatment. However, there may be a small number of patients where this is not the case, and particularly where they are living with asymptomatic hepatitis C.
If you are concerned about a possible hepatitis C infection, you can book a home NHS test online. The tests are free and confidential. To receive a self-testing kit which can be quickly dispatched to your home visit nhs.uk. You can also contact your GP if you have any concerns.
HIV testing is also provided to anyone free of charge on the NHS. Home testing and home sampling kits are also available. You can find out more about HIV testing and the HIV testing services search tool on the NHS website.
Hepatitis B is also linked to infected blood. This usually clears up on its own without treatment, but you can find out more information here - hepatitis B information.
Anyone with questions or concerns about the care they have received at our hospitals, whether in the past or those currently under our care, should contact our Patient Advice and Liaison team at: pals@sthk.nhs.uk
The NHS response to the publication of the final report can be found here.