The Scottish Infected Blood Forum and Haemophilia Scotland, along with independent campaigners, have drafted and issued a Joint Position Paper on the Public Inquiry into contaminated blood and blood products.
It can be downloaded here.
The Executive Summary brings together the key points without supporting detail and we’ve listed these below:
“We support the establishment of an UK Public Inquiry and are proposing it has the following features:
The full report is 21 pages long and covers the background to both organisations and the extent of infections in Scotland, the history of campaigning in Scotland, the lessons from the Penrose Inquiry, what the UK wide Public Inquiry’s Terms of Reference should cover and the powers and procedures of the inquiry.
The report’s Table of Contents is hyperlinked to the relevant pages of the report, so clicking on any topic in the table of contents will automatically take to that part of the report.
Staff and Trustees of both SIBF and Haemophilia Scotland have spent a considerable amount of time in drafting, compiling, reviewing, editing and amending this joint paper; we believe it covers the issues involved comprehensively from a Scottish perspective within the UK context.
A full list of topics covered is detailed below:
Background
Haemophilia Scotland
Scottish Infected Blood Forum
Extent of the infections in Scotland
Hepatitis C
HIV
History of campaigning in Scotland
Lessons from the Penrose Inquiry
Access to the Inquiry
Insufficient analysis and recommendations
Terms of Reference
Infections
Pattern of Exposure of people with inherited bleeding disorders
Evolving knowledge of Hepatitis B
Evolving knowledge of Hepatitis C
Evolving knowledge of HIV/AIDS
Evolving knowledge of CJD
Full disclosure of pathogens
Responsibility and Accountability
Ultimate responsibility
Cross border issues
Consent, Communications, and Risk
Consent for testing and research
Communication of risk
Timeliness of communication
Patient Choice
Constancy of information
Communication to non-specialist treaters
Blood Donor Selection in the UK
Self-identification of high risk groups
Prison Blood
Illicit Drugs and Blood Donation
Donor deferral decision-making
Surrogate ALT testing
Routine anti-HCV testing
Targeted Look-Back
Blood Product Selection
Large pool manufacturing
Manufacturing standards
Licencing
Purchasing
Alternative treatments and treatment regimens
Risk benefit analysis
Impact
Access to justice
Justice delayed
Conspiracy to conceal
Powers and Procedures of an Inquiry
Statutory Panel
Liability
Core Participants
Legal Representation
Structure of the investigation
Selection of an Inquiry Chair and Panel
Chair alone or Chair with Panel
Selection of a Chair and Panel