The shocking and tragic account of the NHS infected blood scandal, which was published in 2023 by Headline before the final report of the inquiry. In the 1970s and 80s, thousands of people in the UK, many of them children, were treated with blood products contaminated with HIV and hepatitis C. The author concludes that this disaster which ruined many lives could largely have been prevented. Lots more information can be found online if you wish to learn more about it, or for an in-depth, chronological account by a political journalist closely associated with the victims’ decades-long campaign for justice, read this book.
The author does an excellent job of bringing together heartbreaking personal stories, interviews with politicians and her own insights. Had the infections been accidental, this would have been terrible enough. However, there is evidence that trusted experts were experimenting on patients, that saving money was considered more important than saving lives, that there was a massive cover-up. The more you read of this book, the more depressing it gets, but at least the story, as complete as it can be, has now been told.
