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The tainted blood scandal that has left tens of thousands of NHS patients infected with hepatitis C and HIV will prove to be a disaster “bigger than Hillsborough”, a senior official said.
Dame Denise Platt, a board member of the General Medical Council, compared the problem to the 1989 stadium crash that claimed the lives of 96 people and was ultimately found to be due to police negligence, after years of camouflage.
His comments were leaked in internal emails to the GMC, which coordinates medics’ submissions to the blood scandal investigation.
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Campaigners say documents revealing true scale of medical errors have been destroyed [File photo]
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More than 2,400 people with hemophilia have died after being given a clotting agent called factor 8, infected with the deadly viruses, in the 1970s and 1980s.
Many more patients are still living with the effects. Activists say documents revealing the true extent of medical errors have been destroyed.
Dame Denise’s comments appeared in an email sent to her colleagues by Thomas Jones, head of regulatory policy for the GMC, and obtained under freedom of information laws.
He wrote: “The Council is already aware of the importance (Denise Platt says it will be bigger than Hillsborough).
Jason Evans of the Factor 8 campaign group said: “For decades governments on all sides have tried to play down the scandal in the hope that it will go away. It is clear from these documents that senior CME officials appreciate the seriousness of this investigation and the events it is reviewing.
Last night, a spokesperson for the GMC said: “The events at the center of this investigation have had a devastating impact on patients and their families, and we hope they will soon receive long-deserved answers.
“We continue to work closely with the investigation by providing documents and information in support of its investigations. “
The investigation, which began in 2018, is expected to end at the end of next year.
![More than 2,400 people with hemophilia have died after receiving a clotting agent called factor 8, which was infected with deadly viruses, in the 1970s and 1980s [File photo]](https://news-24.fr/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/37293560-9089851-image-a-3_1609030011898.jpg)
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More than 2,400 people with hemophilia have died after receiving a clotting agent called factor 8, which was infected with deadly viruses, in the 1970s and 1980s [File photo]
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