Sir Brian Langstaff’s report tackles
one of the enduring myths of this scandal head on.
He is clear that the infections and
deaths of patients were in no way a terrible historical accident.
“I have to report that [the
disaster] could largely, though not entirely, have been avoided. And I have to
report that it should have been,” he writes. He describes the scale of what
happened as “horrifying”.
He says it was “well known” from at
least the early 1940s that the hepatitis virus could be transmitted in blood.
And – crucially – says that it was “apparent” by mid 1982 that whatever was
causing Aids might be also be in spread in this way.
Yet the NHS continued to import
contaminated treatments from the US.
Infections, leading to deaths, illnesses
and suffering were “caused needlessly” to people with haemophilia and other
bleeding disorders, added Sir Brian.
He said thousands of NHS patients
who needed a blood transfusion were also exposed to hepatitis C partly because
there was a sense of “complacency” over the dangers of the virus.