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HI ALL SORRY I HAVE NOT POSTED FOR A WHILE, I HAVE BEEN A BIT BUSY (LOSING WEIGHT) HA HA YES I HAVE ACTUALLY LOST SOME NOT A LOT BUT SOME ABOUT 4lb. ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE I RECEIVED AN EMAIL TODAY FROM MIKE A FRIEND OF MINE IT WAS A COPY OF AN ARTICLE IN A SCOTTISH NEWSPAPER, I HAVE COPY AND PASTED IT TO THIS POST, HAVE A LOOK IT MADE MY BLOOD BOIL.

Sunday Herald - 24 April 2005
Haemophiliacs blocked in bid for secret files
Hepatitis-infected campaigners told handing over vital documents would be ‘too expensive’By Judith Duffy, Health Correspondent
HAEMOPHILIACS have been refused acce ss to secret files which they believe could reveal how they were infected with hepatitis C through contaminated NHS blood products.
Campaigners requesting the release of classified documents under freedom of information legislation have had their demand turned down on the grounds of cost.
The Department of Health has also claimed that some of the documents have been destroyed. The 600 files contain information on blood policy decisions taken by the UK government between 1972 and 1986, during which time thousands became ill.
Mike Kenwright, a haemo-philiac from Cheshire, is one of the individuals infected by hepatitis C who asked for the documents.
He first made the request last year, when he was told they were part of an internal review to “clarify the facts surrounding the drive for self-sufficiency products in blood products in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s.”
The response from the Department of Health said ministers felt that it would be “prudent to wait” for the informal review to be completed before they replied.
When the Freedom of Information Act came into effect in January this year, Kenwright repeated his request for the documents using the new legislation.
He said: “The reply came back saying because it would cost more than £600, we couldn’t have them. The second reason given was that documents I asked for have probably been destroyed.”
The files have been kept secret since 1990, when the government refused to reveal their contents to patients who were suing after contracting HIV through the NHS.
According to court papers, judges who saw the documents believed that the government had a case to answer. But at a time when hundreds were dying from Aids, the judges recommended that those infected accept compensation rather than face a lengthy court battle.
Kenwright believes the files would reveal the government failed to heed warnings from the US about the dangers of using imported blood plasma products.
He said: “There is no doubt that the government was aware of the dangers, yet did nothing about it until HIV came along.
“A lot of people had been infected before that with hepatitis C, but they didn’t see hepatitis C as a danger.
“The actual time they think I was infected was not a life-threatening bleed. We weren’t allowed to make an informed decision. For most of my bleeds, I wouldn’t have touched the stuff. ”
Under the Freedom of Information Act, requests for information can be rejected where the cost to central government would exceed £600.
The reply from the Department of Health states that providing information on imported plasma in the early 1970s “would fall into this category”.
It explains this is because “officials would need to undertake a lengthy exam ination of the files for that period and consult with external organisations who were involved in the provision of imported plasma.”
The response goes on to say: “With regards to your request for documents which were subject to a Court of Appeal Hearing on September 20, 1990 in relation to the HIV litigation, following an extensive search of our records, we do not appear to have retained the documentation.
“Given that the litigation was settled nearly 15 years ago, it would appear the documents have been destroyed.”
Campaigners have repeatedly asked for a public inquiry into what has become known as “the biggest medical treatment disaster in the history of the NHS”.
Peter Mossman, the vice chairman of the Manor House Group, which was formed by haemophiliacs infected with hepatitis C, said he was “appalled” by the failure to release the documents.
He said: “I do not believe they have been destroyed. I think it is the biggest cover-up ever. What also appalls me is that they still insist they cannot have a public inquiry – it is just incredible.”
Bruce Norval, a haemophiliac from Fortrose, near Inverness, who was infected with hepatitis C, described it as a “total whitewash”.
He said: “This continual process of denying us access to information just proves that there is probably a case to be answered.”
He added: “We are talking about the deaths now of more than 200 Scots.
“If this was a railway crash, we would have eventually got a public inquiry.”
Norval added that refusing to release the documents due to cost reasons was an “obscenity”. He said: “Dying of old age is becoming a rare thing in haemophilia – the diseases we are infected with are myriad.
“They are telling us that £600 is a good enough excuse to deny us access to the truth about why we are dying.”
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the documents being used in the internal review had not been destroyed.
But she added: “There were some documents which were asked for in the Freedom of Information request relating to the court of appeal hearing with regards to the HIV litigation.
“We don’t seem to have retained these documents, given the fact that it was 1990.”