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PM’s contaminated blood pledge: ‘Your voices will be listened to’

Written by Aaron Dennis, March 29, 2019

Prime Minister Theresa May has told The Haemophilia Society that the Government will listen to the voices of those infected and affected by the contaminated blood scandal.

Writing in response to two letters sent by The Haemophilia Society last year, Mrs May said that the commemoration ceremony at the start of the preliminary hearings of the Infected Blood Inquiry had brought home the “terrible human cost” of the scandal in a dignified and powerful way.

The letters sent by The Society raised concerns about the inequality of financial support across the UK for those infected and affected by the contaminated blood scandal and asked her to ensure that there was adequate psychological support in place for people affected by the Inquiry.

Mrs May said she was grateful that The Society, along with other campaign groups, had raised the issue of financial support with Health Minister Jackie Doyle-Price in meeting in January, which was also attended by Cabinet Minister David Lidington.

She said the Department of Health and Social Care had noted the concerns raised by the campaign groups about the differences in payments across the UK and was giving the matter “very careful consideration”. We hope this will result in action from the Government to address this inequality as soon as possible.

The Society is disappointed that Mrs May’s letter did not respond to our concerns about the provision of psychological support, which is an area which we will continue to monitor. We welcome any views from our members on this issue.

Mrs May’s letter concludes: “For too long, your voices went unheard and I want to reassure you that all those infected and affected will be listened to.”

The Infected Blood Inquiry will resume on April 30 when it will begin to hear the personal testimonies of those infected and affected by the contaminated blood scandal. Letter from Prime Minister March 2019Download