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Work to ensure islanders benefit from infected blood redress scheme

Work to ensure islanders benefit from infected blood redress scheme

Friday 30 August 2024

Work to ensure islanders benefit from infected blood redress scheme

Friday 30 August 2024


The Government is working to ensure that local victims of the infected blood scandal will be able to benefit from a UK government scheme providing financial compensation.

More than 30,000 people were infected with HIV and hepatitis C from 1970 to 1991 by contaminated blood products and transfusions.

Around 3,000 have since died.

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Pictured: The infected blood scandal saw over 30,000 patients infected with HIV and hepatitis C by contaminated blood products and transfusions from 1970 to 1991.

Earlier this year, a public inquiry said that UK authorities covered up the scandal and exposed victims to unacceptable risks.

The UK government has now announced a compensation scheme which means victims could receive payments of more than £2m.

The Government of Jersey confirmed that it is working to ensure that this scheme will extend to impacted islanders – the number of which has never been formally confirmed.

However, former Health Minister Richard Renouf confirmed in 2019 that, as Jersey “mirrored” the UK’s haemophilia treatment procedures, some islanders had been given infected blood.

He added that there had been a "very low number of occurrences in Jersey".

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Pictured: Former Health Minister Richard Renouf confirmed in 2019 that a “minority” of batches of donor blood used to treat Jersey patients were “infected”, leading some to contract blood-borne diseases.

In a statement provided to Express this week, the Government said: "The Government of Jersey continues to work closely with the UK Government to ensure that the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme will extend to Jersey.

"Wherever possible the Government of Jersey will endeavour to directly inform all those who may be eligible for compensation."

Meanwhile, in Guernsey, it emerged earlier this week that the island's health bosses don't know if any compensation had yet paid to local victims of the scandal.

The island's Committee for Health & Social Care has said it "has currently not seen any documentation that confirms whether or not, or when, compensation might have been paid to these individuals by the States of Guernsey".

However, the Committee confirmed that it is "actively seeking further information" on the issue.

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