Blood victim backs campaign
By Marc Meneaud  |
| Stephen Stubbs |
|
A Bradford man who won a £20,000 payout after contracting hepatitis C from contaminated blood is backing a campaign for compensation by relatives of others who have died of the disease.
More than 1,000 families whose loved ones died after being given contaminated blood products by the NHS are still fighting for compensation.
Money has already been paid from a Government fund to relatives of sufferers who died after August 2003, following a campaign. But 1,203 families have received nothing.
Father-of-two Stephen Stubbs, of Sorrin Close, Idle, contracted hepatitis C following transfusions for the genetic blood disorder haemophilia.
The former Beckfoot School, Bingley, pupil discovered he had the potentially fatal disease about a decade ago, after he was given a blood derivative known as Factor 8 during a series of treatments.
Mr Stubbs, 56, is now backing the campaign by the Haemophilia Society for retrospective compensation payments. He said: "I have a lot of sympathy for the families of those who have passed away because of this.
"They deserve the money as much as I do because they have suffered along with the person who has died.
"The main aim of the campaign is for the Government to accept that it made a mistake in giving people blood products that were infected and also to provide more money for the families of those that have gone and left them behind."
Mr Stubbs was paid £20,000 by the Government after it announced the Skipton Fund in 2004, to compensate those who had contracted hepatitis C. In total 4,670 people with haemophilia became infected with hepatitis C, 1,200 of whom also contracted HIV.
He is now providing evidence to an independent public inquiry, headed by former Solicitor General Lord Archer of Sandwell QC, which is currently investigating the disaster. It is expected to report in the coming months.
A spokesman for the Haemophilia Society said it was hoped the Government would agree to pay out to families once the report was published. Chronic viral hepatitis B and C affects 500 million people, about one in 12, worldwide. It attacks the liver, often leading to cancer or cirrhosis.
e-mail: marc.meneaud@telegraphandargus.co.uk
Relatives in justice fight
More than 300 families in the North West who lost loved ones to hepatitis C contracted from contaminated NHS treatment are still fighting for their tragedy to be recognised.
In 2004 the Government announced the Skipton Fund, which made payments to people with hepatitis C who had contracted the virus through blood transfusions and treatment for haemophilia.
But the fund only paid out to those who died after August 29, 2003.
Those who lost relatives before this date have received nothing.
Hepatitis C is a virus which attacks the liver, often leading to liver cancer or cirrhosis. It usually takes between 20 and 30 years to reach this end stage, but can progress much more quickly.
The UK Government has refused to hold an independent public inquiry into the contaminated blood disaster, which left 4,670 people with haemophilia infected with HIV and hepatitis C.
However, an independent public inquiry is currently investigating the circumstances and is expected to report in the coming months.
David Fielding, a committee member of Haemophilia Society North West, said: "I had hepatitis B and C and I had a brother who died of HIV in 1990.
"I have been campaigning with the North West group to get justice for those who have received nothing. There are a lot of people out there who are suffering."
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