What was the infected blood scandal?

The ‘biggest treatment disaster’ in NHS history, the infected blood scandal inquiry concluded on Monday 20 May. Tens of thousands were infected with HIV and hepatitis after being given contaminated blood between the 1970s and 1990s, mostly patients with certain blood disorders, like haemophilia, who were treated with donated blood plasma or transfusions. Too little was done to stop importing blood products from abroad, which included blood from high-risk donors such as drug addicts and prisoners that was cheaper to buy. According to the report, the public were falsely reassured, children were treated unnecessarily, and evidence was deliberately destroyed. Prime minister Rishi Sunak has promised compensation, which will be rolled out this year, but for the 3,000 patients who have already died, justice has come too late. Watch more on Independent TV: Click here to subscribe to The Independent: