Watch: Government expected to announce infected blood scandal compensation
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Your support makes all the difference.Watch as the Government was expected to announce a £10bn infected blood scandal compensation for victims on Tuesday (21 May).
Cabinet Office Minister John Glen was expected set out a £10bn compensation package for victims and their families, after the Prime Minister said there must be “justice and accountability” for any “wrongdoing” when it comes to the infected blood scandal.
Rishi Sunak said victims affected by the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS have “waited an incredibly long time for justice and the truth”.
More than 30,000 people were infected with deadly viruses between the 1970s and early 1990s as they received blood transfusions or blood products while receiving NHS care.
Mr Sunak issued a “wholehearted and unequivocal” apology to the victims on Monday, saying the publication of the report into the disaster was “a day of shame for the British state”.
He promised to pay “comprehensive compensation” to those affected and infected by the scandal.
Asked about the compensation scheme for victims, Mr Sunak said that an “enormous amount of work” has been going on over the past year to “make sure that we are in a position to now move as quickly as possible”.
Government documents have been released which show “the compensation award that an infected person living with a single infection or co-infection may expect to receive”.
The illustrative figures suggest that a person living with an HIV infection as a result of contaminated blood may expect to receive between £2.2 and £2.6m.
People with an “acute” hepatitis C infection could get £35,500 while those with the most severe illness caused by the virus could get up to £1,557,000, according to the figures.
People who were co-infected with hepatitis and HIV could receive a payout of £2,735,000.
However, the figures are not final and should be treated with caution.
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