Mum and daughter call for action in blood scandal

Ros Cooper, left, called on the government to ‘just get on with it’ and compensate victims

A mother and daughter have called on the government to “just get on with it” and compensate victims of the contaminated blood scandal.

Ros Cooper, from Bewdley, Worcestershire, and her mum Juliet Batten joined a protest outside Parliament on Wednesday.

Ms Cooper, 49, was infected with hepatitis C as a child while receiving treatment for a bleeding disorder.

The government said it would respond after a public inquiry’s final report.

Around 30,000 NHS patients are thought to have been infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.

More than 3,000 people have died.

Ms Cooper found out she had contracted hepatitis C when she was aged 19.

She had two bouts of treatment using the drug Interferon in the 1990s and early 2000s, but said this was “horrific”, made her more unwell, and she believes it also left her infertile.

‘Just ghastly’

She said hepatitis C treatments had improved and she no longer tests positive for the disease, but she continued to suffer side effects and had not been able to work since 2007.

Ms Cooper and other campaigners held the demonstration to call for a compensation scheme in next week’s spring Budget.

The scandal has been described by MPs as the worst treatment disaster in NHS history.

In April 2023, Sir Brian Langstaff, who is chairing a public inquiry, published his final recommendations for a full compensation scheme for those directly affected and their relatives.

The inquiry’s final report was due to be published last autumn but is now due in May.

“I’m still struggling with the fact that this is hanging over our lives,” said Ms Batten.

“It’s just ghastly – going on and on and on.”

The pair were due to meet their local MP Mark Garnier after the demonstration. He has been approached for comment.

The government said the infected blood scandal “was an appalling tragedy” and it had “accepted the moral case for compensation”.

“The government intends to respond in full to Sir Brian’s recommendations for wider compensation following the publication of the inquiry’s final report,” a spokesperson said.

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