The majority of grieving families are not qualified, according to campaigners.
The government has confirmed that thousands of qualified victims and their families will receive an interim payment of £100,000 by today.
Sir Brian Langstaff, chairman of the tainted blood inquiry, stated in a July report that interim payments should be provided “without delay.”
Survivors and bereaved partners should have received letters confirming their payout amount and date, but campaigners claim that the majority of bereaved families are not qualified.
The controversy has been described as the worst healthcare disaster in the history of the NHS.
Patients were infected with HIV and hepatitis C due to the importation of tainted blood supplies from the United States. An estimated 2,400 people perished as a result.
Gary Webster told that he has not received a letter or email informing him that he will receive the £100,000 in compensation, despite being eligible.
As a reaction, a government spokeswoman told, “As we announced in August, payments are being provided to any eligible recipient registered with one of the four UK-infected blood assistance schemes.”
“The support groups have sent emails and letters directly to their members. We request that anyone who has not received correspondence contact the scheme with whom they are registered.”
However, some grieving family members will not receive compensation, despite their belief that they should. This includes the deceased children and parents of infected blood victims.
The government spokeswoman said that interim compensation payments to sick persons and bereaved partners meet Sir Brian’s interim report recommendations “in full.”
They stated, however, that “additional work is being done” to investigate the broader eligibility suggestions made by Sir Robert Francis KC, and that they will react to the recommendations of Sir Brian’s Inquiry as soon as the investigation is complete.
“Thirty years past due”
Mark Ellis, whose father was killed by tainted blood, will not be compensated.
After keeping the facts of his father’s death a secret for more than three decades, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
It ought to have been paid thirty years ago. Three decades too late. I’m pleased that the infected are receiving treatment, but I believe they could have gone further and paid more. In my view, the dead have paid the ultimate price,” he remarked.
Steve Finney says he has survivor’s remorse and wants compensation for victims’ families, but he is aware that it would come from the “public wallet.”
“They’ve been forgotten and thrown under the bus. It’s the individuals who have received little or very little acknowledgment. Certainly not the recognition they deserve after decades of service. And we’re speaking of decades here,” he stated.
“Divide any six- or seven-figure salary by the number of decades and years to get a sense of how little it is.”
The Haemophilia Society’s chief executive officer, Kate Burt, stated, “We have a long way to go.”
“The inquiry’s hearings will complete by the beginning of 2023. The report should be published in the middle of the year, and the government must respond immediately.
“Because, as I’ve stated, people are dying every single week without knowing if they would be compensated.
“Money is not the only concern. It’s about accepting responsibility for what occurred.”
