During a public inquiry session regarding the NHS blood scandal, the Paymaster General acknowledged the inadequacy of the compensation process for victims of a contaminated blood crisis that affected 30,000 patients. Almost a year after a critical report highlighted the scandal's significant preventability, only 106 final compensation awards have been issued, raising concerns from victims and their families. Despite the Chancellorâs allocation of £11.8 billion for compensation, less than 1% has reached those impacted, indicating urgent needs for reform in the compensation handling to address these long-standing grievances.
Mr. Thomas-Symonds agreed it was "profoundly unsatisfactory" that just 106 final compensation awards have been paid, almost a year after a damning report into the scandal was published.
The report said too little was done to stop the importing of contaminated blood products from abroad in the 1970s and 80s, and there was evidence that the health authorities covered up elements of the scandal.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves set aside 11.8bn in the last budget to make final awards to victims and their family members, but the latest figures show less than 1% of that total, some 97m, has been paid out to date.
"I'm never going to think this is satisfactory until everybody has received the compensation that is due," the paymaster general said.
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