UK Infected Blood Inquiry: "The culture of the UK has to shift"
CGTN Europe spoke to Kate Burt, Chief Executive of the Haemophilia Society.
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00:00 The UK government has pledged a comprehensive compensation package for the victims of the
00:05 infected blood scandal described as the worst treatment disaster in the history of the National
00:11 Health Service. This comes a day after a public inquiry found that the government and the
00:16 NHS were culpable with evidence of a cover-up. More than 30,000 people were infected from
00:22 1970 to 1991 by contaminated blood products and transfusions. The Prime Minister, Rishi
00:29 Sunak, has issued an apology and promised compensation with no limit to the total cost.
00:35 Well, let's talk to Kate Burt, the Chief Executive of the Haemophiliac Society. Kate, welcome.
00:41 What's your reaction to this report? Well, it was a seismic day yesterday in London with
00:48 the publication of the infected blood inquiry report. It's taken four decades of campaigning
00:54 to get to that day. And I know members of the public in the UK will be deeply shocked
01:00 by its findings. The Prime Minister yesterday called it a national shame for the British
01:06 state. But unfortunately, everybody in the haemophilia and bleeding disorder community
01:11 have known for four decades that wrong was done and that it was covered up. So we weren't
01:16 shocked but we were very relieved that the report has vindicated the campaigners. As
01:23 you say, it's a decade-long scandal. In brief, how did this happen? In the 1970s, we were
01:33 not self-sufficient in a domestic blood and blood product supply. The World Health Organization
01:39 had already issued warnings about the creation of plasmapools that they should be limited
01:46 to at most 20 donors. However, the UK government took the decision to start importing blood
01:53 products from overseas and mainly from the United States of America, which had a dangerously
02:01 unregulated donation system where they were paying people to donate their blood, targeting
02:08 prisons in Louisiana and Arkansas, and pulling plasma from tens of thousands of donors. And
02:16 all it would take is one donor to have a virus such as hepatitis or HIV for the entire pool
02:23 to be contaminated. People with haemophilia and bleeding disorders need to have infusions
02:31 maybe one or two times a week to help their blood clot. So essentially, we were importing
02:38 poisoned blood and giving it to people with haemophilia and other bleeding disorders and
02:43 condemning them to almost certain infection. The UK government has finally earmarked perhaps
02:52 £10 billion for compensation, but can any payout ever really compensate for the loss
02:58 of life? It can't. 6,000 people with haemophilia and bleeding disorders were infected. Many
03:06 more members of the public were infected through blood transfusions in hospitals. 3,000 people
03:12 have died so far, and people are dying every week. Parents lost children, children lost
03:18 parents, husbands, wives. People died in the most horrible of circumstances. And through
03:26 all of that time, the government was telling us that no wrong had been done. Yesterday,
03:34 that was proved to be a lie. The UK has a special phrase for sad occasions like this
03:39 where everyone in officialdom, politicians, civil servants, doctors, and the pharmaceutical
03:45 industry get together, wring their hands, and all say, "Sorry, the phrase is, 'This
03:50 will not happen again.'" That's what they say. Are you confident this won't, something
03:54 like this won't? I think the only way that a repetition of such a disaster can be avoided
04:03 is if there is a major change to the way the institutions of power, including government,
04:10 the civil service, and institutions like the National Health Service, interact with the
04:15 people that they are here to serve. We have a paternalistic culture in the UK that has
04:20 got to change. And the fact that saving reputations and saving money, rather than saving lives,
04:29 was seen as more important has to change. It's a moment where the culture of the UK
04:35 has to shift. Kate, thank you for your time. Kate Burt, the chief executive of the Haemophilia
04:41 Society.