Haemophiliac meets with Lords (From This Is Cheshire)

Haemophiliac meets with Lords

1:20pm Tuesday 17th November 2009 in

By Joanna Lean »

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A HAEMOPHILIAC from Warrington who has relentlessly campaigned to get compensation for people infected with blood diseases by the NHS has met with lords who wrote a report slamming the Government.

Grappenhall resident Mike Kenwright was infected with Hepatitis when the Government used to buy blood products from America.

Those products, used to treat his haemophilia, were from donors at prisons and drug addicts who were paid for their contributions.

Thousands of people were infected with HIV and Hepatitis during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Mr Kenwright went to London last week with other members of the Manor House Group, an action group, to meet Lord Peter Archer, Dr Norman Jones of St Thomas’ Hospital in London and Judith Willetts, chief executive of the British Society for Immunology.

The meeting followed the publication of Lord Archer’s report, which recommended that the Government apologise and pay compensation to the victims, many of whom now face the possibility that they were also infected with vCJD, or Mad Cow Disease.

In its response the Government agreed to pay compensation to those with HIV, but not Hepatitis for five years.

The decision angered the haemophiliac community, who have repeatedly tried to meet with health minister Andy Burnham.

“The meeting ended on a humorous note with the fact that once again the Government had given another £39 billion to bail out banks just 12 hours before the meeting with Lord Archer while they are happy to leave the victims of this disaster to continue in a life of pain and financial problems as a result of NHS treatment,” said Mr Kenwright.

“It is felt throughout the haemophilia population and certain MPs that this Government has firstly created a division between two groups, even though both are experiencing growing losses as a result of these viruses.

“It is also strongly felt that the Government’s refusal to offer any financial help to one group, and increasing the annual payment to another, is nothing but a clear case of discrimination by the Department of Health and the Government.”

Comments(2)

Sue Threakall says...
8:04pm Tue 24 Nov 09

I was interested to see your article about a group of haemophiliacs who recently visited the House of Lords with regard to the contaminated blood tragedy. I am secretary of TaintedBlood, a group that campaigns and advocates on behalf of all those infected and affected by contaminated blood and blood products and I was alarmed to see your article state that: (In its response to the report of Lord Archer's Inquiry)...the Government agreed to pay compensation to those with HIV, but not Hepatitis for five years. This is absolutely not true. The government has never paid compensation to any of the victims of this tragedy, merely given a series of inadequate ex-gratia payments and reduced many of the affected community to lives of poverty where they are forced to beg for charitable hand-outs. Compensation can only be given when there is an admission of liability and for over twenty five years successive governments have refused to admit any liability. Moreover, the phrase implies that in five years time those haemphilacs with Hepatitis C will be 'compensated'. Again, not true. The government, in its utterly shameful and inadequate response to Lord Archer's report merely said that in five years time they will review the Skipton Fund (A fund set up to make payments to those who contracted Hepatits C through blood and blood products). Reviewing in five years time is a meaningless concept to a community who are currently dying at the rate of more than one per month! Especially since, following that review the government is not committing itself to actually changing anything.

Our community has been treated appallingly by every government in the last quarter of a century. We are committed to achieve our aims of truth and justice for all and are currently trying to encourage people to lobby their MPs regarding a recent Bill introduced to the House of Lords by Lord Morris of Manchester. If this Bill becomes law it will ensure that all of Lord Archer's recommendations are given statutory powers and that our small, finite group of sick, dying and disabled people will have some peace of mind at last.

Sue Threakall

I was interested to see your article about a group of haemophiliacs who recently visited the House of Lords with regard to the contaminated blood tragedy. I am secretary of TaintedBlood, a group that campaigns and advocates on behalf of all those infected and affected by contaminated blood and blood products and I was alarmed to see your article state that: (In its response to the report of Lord Archer's Inquiry)...the Government agreed to pay compensation to those with HIV, but not Hepatitis for five years. This is absolutely not true. The government has never paid compensation to any of the victims of this tragedy, merely given a series of inadequate ex-gratia payments and reduced many of the affected community to lives of poverty where they are forced to beg for charitable hand-outs. Compensation can only be given when there is an admission of liability and for over twenty five years successive governments have refused to admit any liability. Moreover, the phrase implies that in five years time those haemphilacs with Hepatitis C will be 'compensated'. Again, not true. The government, in its utterly shameful and inadequate response to Lord Archer's report merely said that in five years time they will review the Skipton Fund (A fund set up to make payments to those who contracted Hepatits C through blood and blood products). Reviewing in five years time is a meaningless concept to a community who are currently dying at the rate of more than one per month! Especially since, following that review the government is not committing itself to actually changing anything. Our community has been treated appallingly by every government in the last quarter of a century. We are committed to achieve our aims of truth and justice for all and are currently trying to encourage people to lobby their MPs regarding a recent Bill introduced to the House of Lords by Lord Morris of Manchester. If this Bill becomes law it will ensure that all of Lord Archer's recommendations are given statutory powers and that our small, finite group of sick, dying and disabled people will have some peace of mind at last. Sue Threakall Sue Threakall

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Haydn W Lewis says...
11:30pm Tue 24 Nov 09

The thalidomide tragedy predates the Medicines Act of 68, The Haemophilia disaster, post dates the Act.

How insulting this PQ answer given by the minister responsible for responding to the Archer inquiry report must be to the 2000 who have died due to the States failure in its "Duty of care" to the general public and the haemophilia community concerning their exposer to contaminated blood products over the past 40 years.

(Gillian Merron) stated in a written answer:

Prior to the thalidomide tragedy, there was no formal drug regulation system in place to monitor the safety of medicines in the UK. As a result of the tragedy, a complete review of the machinery for marketing, testing and regulating drugs was initiated, including enactment of the Medicines Act 1968, which introduced stricter testing for medicines prior to licensing to ensure that they meet acceptable standards of safety and efficacy.

Why will the current government not allow a public debate on the floor of the commons regarding this matter, There should be nothing to fear from the truth?

Haydn

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Haemophiliac meets with Lords (From This Is Cheshire)

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