What next for the victims of the infected blood scandal following Sir Brian Langstaff’s report? - Daxa Patel

Institutional refusal to admit these failings, the loss and destruction of key documents are shocking. Families were marginalised and people died with shame because of how we as a society treated those with HIV and Aids.

It was a bittersweet day for the victims and their families but unless there is remorse and humility this kind of thing will happen again. The duty of candour was ignored by those who had a fiduciary duty to protect their patients. Children were experimented on.

In 1982, we became aware of the risk of Aids from infected blood, yet it took 40 years to get this scandal acknowledged. Will the establishment be held to account and who in authority will suffer? These decision makers are either no more or have retired.

A corporate manslaughter conviction against those still alive who are found to be culpable is something that should be pursued but nothing will take away the fact that this is one of the worst disasters in the history of the NHS. It was a huge moment when Sir Brian said that successive governments let down the victims. A sigh of relief amongst the victims and their families was palpable even on the TV, that finally, what they have been saying for years is now acknowledged and is in the public domain. Validation is crucial before healing can take place, but the grievous harm is so deep that not even the compensation scheme will give closure.

NHS England apologised and so did the Prime Minister but this means nothing unless those responsible are punished.

To avert a similar scandal, we need more than just an apology, a compensation scheme and vindication, we also need to see the implementation of the recommendations made by the Infected Blood Scandal Inquiry.

Given the systematic failures by all the agencies involved we need to know exactly what changes will be implemented when patients raise concerns about the treatment. Right now, we have a slow complaints process which can be prolonged by the NHS.

Hospitals are there to care for their patients, the betrayal of that trust is going to need more than a good PR agency to bail them out.

The institutional defensiveness is th e biggest challenge for the current government and the ones afterwards. Duty of care, duty of candour and breach of the fiduciary duty are like glass, once broken these are hard to restore. Also, like the Nolan principles none of us in the professional world of trust are allowed to ignore, why were these people allowed to continue being so blasé and dismissive to the health concerns raised by these victims? And where does the buck stop?

I wrote about this last week and with my legal head, we need strict liability where none of the victims save for evidence that they had infected blood transfusions need to prove they are entitled to due compensation. In a medical negligence case, the victim must prove breach of duty and causation, this should be a given here. The systems to make these payments will need to be rigorous and robust, so there is no slippage in timely pay outs to all victims and the bereaved.

The Crown Prosecution Services should, with transparency, set up an independent team to assess whether there are grounds for criminal proceedings for corporate manslaughter against the agencies and individuals.

The compensation scheme needs to be more generous and efficient than pursuing a civil claim. Let the victims' fight end here.

Ministers responsible for decisions made in connection with this scandal or for their inaction should be made to attend a Select Committee to answer questions, this will help the CPS with any action they can take.

Testing centres are needed to test everyone alive who had blood transfusions for the period concerned. Counselling support and psychological support should be given at the earliest opportunity. Partners and spouses of the HIV victims should be treated as victims too. Amidst this sad situation, the only people who come out with their dignity intact are the victims and their families, and the members of the Inquiry, as well as the press, and media.

​Daxa Manhar Patel is a leadership coach, author and solicitor.

Pick up tomorrow’s Yorkshire Post for a special report on the infected blood scandal.