Britain Covered Up Tainted Blood Scandal That Killed Thousands, Report Finds

UPI reports that the British government covered up "a multi-decade tainted blood scandal, leading to thousands of related deaths, a report published Monday found."Britain's National Health Service allowed blood tainted with HIV and Hepatitis to be used on patients without their knowledge, leading to 3,000 deaths and more than 30,000 infections, according to the 2,527-page final report by Justice Brian Justice Langstaff, a former judge on the High Court of England and Wales. Langstaff oversaw a five-year investigation into the use of tainted blood and blood products in Britain's healthcare system between 1970 and 1991. The report blames multiple administrations over the time period for knowingly exposing victims to unacceptable risks... In several cases, health officials lied about the risks to patients... The NHS also gave patients false reassurances, an attempt to "save face," failing victims "not once but repeatedly...." The situation could "largely, though not entirely, have been avoided," Langstaff found... The British government on Monday began operating a support phone line for people and their families affected by the tainted blood scandal. The article notes that Langstaff described the coverup as "subtle" but "pervasive" and "chilling in its implications... "To save face and to save expense, there has been a hiding of much of the truth." Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 for sharing the article.

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