Infected blood support and compensation

Interim compensation will be paid to:

• • People who contracted hepatitis C and/or HIV from NHS blood or blood products before September 1991

• • Married, civil or long-term partners after the death of someone who received infected blood

At the moment, interim compensation payments are not being offered to parents or other bereaved family members. However, if you fall into this category, you can apply to join the support scheme to receive financial support offered by the scheme.

There are four infected blood support schemes across the UK, which cover England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The support schemes aim to provide support to people who have been infected with Hepatitis C and or HIV as a result of NHS treatment with blood or blood products.

These support payments administered through the support schemes are given as a moral obligation rather than any legal requirement (ex gratia). Therefore, the support payments are not compensation and any compensation paid will be in addition to the support scheme payments.

To register with a UK infected blood support scheme, you will need to be able to provide medical records which demonstrate the hepatitis C infection and the transfusion or use of blood products. Guidance on how to access medical records is available on the EIBSS website.

Yes. You can apply to join the support scheme if you were given hepatitis C or HIV as a result of treatment with NHS blood, blood products or tissue prior to September 1991.

You can also apply if you were infected with hepatitis C or HIV by someone who was infected through treatment with NHS blood, blood products or tissue prior to September 1991.

Registering with a support scheme now will give you automatic eligibility to any future pay outs.

Yes. Everyone who was a Skipton Fund recipient should have been transferred to their national scheme, and if you have not been already you can be now.

If you were a recipient of the Skipton Fund, you fund do not need to re-apply. You only need to contact Russell-Cook solicitors. Russell-Cook hold all of the Skipton Fund files and can transfer these to the relevant national support scheme.

Contact them on the details below:

SkiptonFund@russell-cooke.co.uk

020 8394 6488

The Skipton Fund Limited, c/o Russell-Cooke LLP, 2 Putney Hill, London SW15 6AB

People who were previous beneficiaries will need to provide Russell-Cook with confirmation of their National Insurance number and/or address at time of registration.

If you are applying on behalf of the estate of someone who has passed away, you may be listed as next of kin within the Skipton files. If not, they will need evidence that you are the executor of their estate, appointed Personal Representative, or able to act on their behalf.

If your application to the scheme was unsuccessful you are entitled to appeal the decision.

You can appeal if you feel their decision on the medical evidence provided was not justified.

If you can provide further or new medical evidence not originally submitted on your initial application, your application can be reassessed by the scheme’s medical assessors.

Any future compensation system may have different eligibility criteria to the Skipton Fund and the existing UK Infected Blood Support Schemes. For example, the current ‘cut-off’ date of September 1991 may no longer apply. Therefore, if you’re not currently eligible, you may be in future.

Our team has helped dozens of people rejected by the Infected Blood Support Scheme to appeal their case.

If you need help or assistance with an appeal, please contact our helpine.

People who are enrolled with one of the support schemes may be eligible for a range of other help, for example funds to pay for the costs of counselling or to make adjustments to their home. Contact your support scheme for more details.

Contact our helpline to discuss compensation, the support schemes and additional payments, or anything else related to hepatitis C.

We can help with specific questions and assistance around completing your application form, as well as providing emotional support.