UK’s health service accused of cover up in infected blood scandal

London: Britain’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS) was accused of cover up in an infected blood scandal dating back to

the 1970s in a public inquiry report submitted to the government on Monday. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

is expected to issue an apology on behalf of the government after inquiry chair Sir Brian Langstaff

delivered his scathing verdict on the issue, which involves over 30,000 people being infected with life-threatening viruses such as HIV and Hepatitis C while they were under NHS care between the 1970s and 1990s.

It involves infected batches of Factor VIII, an essential blood clotting protein which haemophiliacs do not produce naturally, imported from the US and

used widely to treat patients at the time.

They were infected as donated blood was not tested for HIV/AIDS until 1986 and Hepatitis C until 1991 in the UK.