GPs asked to find undiagnosed infected blood victims

GPs will be asked to find undiagnosed infected blood victims, following a national inquiry’s concern that hundreds affected by the scandal could be living unaware.

Around 400,000 new patients registering at GP practices each year will be asked if they had a blood transfusion before 1996 and offered tests for Hepatitis C, under new rules from NHS England.

The drive comes in response to recommendations from the Infected Blood Inquiry into the scandal that left 30,000 patients infected with HIV and hepatitis, and killed more than 3,000 people from the 1970s to the 1990s.

The inquiry, led by Sir Brian Langstaff, suggested hundreds of people infected during childbirth may still be living undiagnosed and unaware.

The scandal has been dubbed the “biggest disaster in the history of the NHS”, and earlier this month, the government admitted some patients will die before they get compensation.

In the final inquiry report, published in May 2024, Sir Langstaff recommended that patients who might have had blood transfusions before 1996 should be tested for Hepatitis C.

NHS England has said around 400,000 people born before 1996 will now be asked if they received a historic blood transfusion, with those who did then being offered a test for Hepatitis C.

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Source: The Independent, 19 May 2025