A FRESH appeal has been made in a bid to track down victims of Scotland’s infected blood scandal. An awareness campaign has been launched by the Scottish Government to trace people who had a blood transfusion before September 1991 and have still not been tested for Hepatitis C.
The move was the only recommendation made in the controversial 1,800-page Penrose Report into contaminated NHS blood products – with victims and families branding the £12 million inquiry a “whitewash”.
Thousands of people were infected with Hepatitis C and HIV through NHS blood products in the 1970s and 80s. After the inquiry, a working group was set up by Health Secretary Shona Robison to take charge of assessing the number of people who contracted Hepatitis C and how many were still undiagnosed.
Robison said: “One of the key issues which arose from the Penrose Inquiry was whether there are any people who received Hepatitis C from blood transfusions before September 1991 who have not yet been diagnosed. Although look-back exercises have been carried out in the past, I established this working group to try to assess the scale of this issue.
“The number of patients likely to be infected is very small and the lack of historical medical records makes tracing them difficult. However, it is possible there are still people yet to be tested and unaware of their infection, and so I have today accepted all these recommendations to ensure that everything possible is done to find people who may have been infected and offer them the best care and treatment.
“Treatments for Hepatitis C have improved greatly in recent years. I would urge anyone who thinks they had a blood transfusion before September 1991 to seek advice from the Hepatitis helpline or their GP practice about a test if they have not yet done so.”
The working group’s recommend-ations, which the Scottish Government said would be implemented in full, were to deliver a targeted awareness campaign focused on people who received a blood transfusion before September 1991, the identific-ation and written offer of a blood test to a group of up to 71 plasma recip-ients who are as yet unknown and a letter from the Chief Medical Officer to all clinicians to remind them of the need to offer Hepatitis C tests to certain at-risk groups.
Professor David Goldberg of Health Protection Scotland, the chairman of the working group said: “I am delighted that the Scottish Government has accepted all of the group’s proposed recommendations.
“These comply with the Penrose Inquiry recommendation that all reasonable steps be taken to offer a Hepatitis C test to people who had a blood transfusion pre-September 1991 and who have not already been tested.
“The Scottish Government action is in keeping with its general response to tackling Hepatitis C – one which is regarded by the World Health Organisation and the World Hepatitis Alliance as a model of excellent practice, and one which is consistent with Scotland’s strategic aim to eliminate Hepatitis C as a serious public health concern.”
Support group Hepatitis Scotland spokesman Leon Wylie said: “It is likely that there are actually very small numbers who may have been exposed to the infection this way but it is extremely important to make people aware they can have a test if they have been at risk.
“Hepatitis C often does not show any real symptoms until a person has had the illness for many years and the good news is we now have medications that can cure it easily.”
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