Joint statement ahead of meeting with Bishop James Jones

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Today, representatives of both Haemophilia Scotland and the Scottish Infected Blood Forum will be in London to attend a meeting between people affected by contaminated blood and blood products and the former Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones.  We will be expressing the views of our members from our recent joint campaign meeting and have jointly issued the short statement below.

In our united view, the UK Public Inquiry should be a statutory Inquiry under the 2005 Inquiries Act. It should be conducted by a panel rather than a Chair and they should be appointed as soon as possible with appropriate input from affected people. The wrong Chair and Panel is worse than no Chair and Panel. There must be Scottish Core Participants and Scottish legal representation.

We want people to make their own decision about whether or not to attend the meeting with the Bishop. The Scottish charities are attending because we want to take opportunities to engage and put forward the Scottish perspective. Therefore, we are not boycott the meeting or planning to walk out of it. We take the Bishop at his word and believe him when he is says that he is making a genuine attempt to help.

Haemophilia Scotland and the Scottish Infected Blood Forum are both currently working with Thompsons Solicitors.

We continue to call for the Department of Health to step aside in favour of another Department taking the lead establishing a UK Inquiry.

Joint Contaminated Blood and Blood Products Campaign Meeting Report

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On Saturday the 26th August, Haemophilia Scotland and the Scottish Infected Blood Forum held a joint meeting to discuss a collective response to the announcement that there will be a UK Public Inquiry into the contaminated blood and blood products disaster.

The meeting was well attended by affected people, including independent campaigners, from across Scotland. Members of the legal team who represented the patient interest during the Penrose Inquiry also took part.

The clear view of the meeting was that,

  1. The UK Public Inquiry should be a Statutory Inquiry but framed to be as flexible and responsive to affected peoples’ concerns as possible. In particular,
    1. The Inquiry should be under a panel rather than a lone Chair.
    2. The investigation should be segmented rather than linear. There should be milestones so that as each aspect is dealt with a preliminary recommendation can be made so that the appropriate bodies can respond immediately. Panel members could be selected with a view to them leading particular aspects of the investigation. This could stop the Inquiry taking longer than necessary.
    3. Many more affected people should be able to give oral evidence than were permitted to during the Penrose Inquiry.
    4. Patients and patient representative need to be fully involved at all stages from establishing the Inquiry, through how it is conducted and reports, to the implementation of its recommendations.
    5. Be accessible to people all over the UK including holding public hearings in all four nations and streaming the proceedings online.
  2. There are particular Scottish elements to the disaster which must be represented in the UK Inquiry. Scotland has had its own NHS, blood transfusion service, and legal system throughout the disasters. Specifically, there must be Scottish Core Participants and separate legal representation.
  3. All Scottish campaign organisations and individuals should work together as much as possible to maintain a clear Scottish position in relation to the Inquiry and the disaster. We should engage with the process of establishing the Inquiry as early as possible to be able to influence the terms of reference.
  4. There are important lessons to learn from the Scottish experience of the Penrose Inquiry including,
    1. that the Terms of Reference need to be very specific and clearly direct the Inquiry Chair and Panel to examine the key areas of concern for the community, and make recommendations. Terms of reference which require general investigation are vulnerable to be interpreted so as not to require the specifics to be examined.
    2. The Chair and Panel should be young enough, and foreseeably well enough, to complete the work while in good health.
    3. Once the Chair and Panel are appointed they will have a lot of power. It is important not to rush to appoint an inappropriate Chair or Panel Member but to appoint people who are acceptable to those affected.
  5. The Inquiry should be focused on bringing out the whole truth and the terms of reference should include,
    1. Who is accountable?
      • Were there actions which could lead to criminal/civil prosecutions or further disciplinary action?
      • The Inquiry must be able to investigate the actions of Ministers. Was action delayed and if so why?
      • Investigate whether systems and procedures were appropriate and not just whether they were followed.
    2. All viruses and prions including Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, and CJD.
    3. Have all appropriate lessons been learnt and if so what specifically has changed? Should include a full risk assessment.
    4. The development and use of pooled plasma derived clotting factor products.
    5. Protecting the safety of the blood supply, including surrogate testing and donor exclusion.
    6. Consent for research, testing, and using stored samples.
    7. Communication of risk and infected status. Were patients fully informed and included in decision making.
    8. Whether evidence was removed by the destruction or alteration of medical records or other relevant files.
    9. The impact of the disaster.
      • Financial losses and on-going financial support needs, including insurance costs.
      • Health of those infected (from fatigue and brain fog to death), their families, and their sexual partners.
      • On-going no financial support needs of all those affected.
  6. It is vital not to lose focus on working to improve the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme (SIBSS).

Several people who spoke at the meeting made it clear that if there was an unsuitable Chair, Panel, or Terms of Reference then they wouldn’t be prepared to engage with the process.

Haemophilia Scotland and the Scottish Infected Blood Forum will be working together with members and independent campaigners to develop the views of the meeting into a comprehensive Scottish position.

BREAKING NEWS

A venue has been set for the meeting between Bishop James Jones and affected people on the 12th September (11:30 for a 12:20 start). It will be at BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JP.

Governments respond about UK Inquiry

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UK from Space.jpg

On the 25th of July Haemophilia Scotland and the Scottish Infected Blood Forum (SIBF) wrote to Nicola Sturgeon MSP, First Minister about the UK Public Inquiry into contaminated blood and blood products.

We have now received a reply on her behalf from Shona Robison MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, as the Minister responsible.

In her reply Shona Robison MSP,

  • Offered to take a more proactive role in advising the UK Government of the views of Scottish stakeholders if that would be helpful.
  • Agreed with our call for the procedures of the UK Inquiry to be accessible for people in Scotland.
  • Detailed information and support offered by Scotland to the process of establishing the UK Inquiry.
  • Declared her intention to continue to work closely with us in relation to the UK Inquiry.

Read her reply in full here.

We have also received a reply to Bill Wright’s letter of the 12th July to The Rt Hon Theresa May MP, Prime Minister, which was passed to Jackie Doyle-Price MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care and Mental Health, as the Minister responsible.

In her reply Jackie Doyle-Price MP,

  • Welcomed our ideas on how the UK Inquiry could add value for people in Scotland.
  • Recognised that previous investigations have not gone far enough.
  • Explained that the UK Governments primary concern is to properly engage with those affected.
  • Encouraged us to make further submissions in writing.

Read her reply in full here. 

Following our joint campaign meeting it is clear that members want us to engage with the process of establishing the Public Inquiry and to try and influence the terms of reference to learn from our experience of the Penrose Inquiry.  We are keen to have an open dialogue with both Governments so that the views of people in Scotland are heard. However, we continue to believe that the Department of Health (UK) are an inappropriate partner for those discussions.

Meeting Bishop James Jones in London

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Kings-Cross-Square.jpgThank you for everyone who came to our joint campaign meeting with the Scottish Infected Blood Forum (SIBF) on Saturday.  It was an extremely interesting and informative debate.  We will post a report from the meeting for those who couldn’t be there as soon as possible.

One piece of feedback we’ve had was that people would like to know more about the upcoming meeting with Bishop James Jones.  All the information we currently have about  is detailed below.  Bill Wright and Dan Farthing-Sykes will be attending on behalf of Haemophilia Scotland and look forward to seeing anyone else who is able to attend.

Who

Bishop James Jones, former Bishop of Liverpool is Chairing a meeting of the affected communities and their representatives. The meeting is being supported and promoted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood. No representatives of the Government will be present at the meeting.

When

12th September 2017. Refreshments will be available from 11:30am and the meeting will start at 12:30.  There will be a break in the middle of the meeting which will finish at 3:00pm.  The Bishop will be available informally for a short time afterwards.

Where

BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JP.

What

The Bishop has agreed that the purpose of the meeting is:

  1. To assist the Community in communicating to the Government their concerns with the process for setting up the Public Inquiry, (e.g. The Department of Health cannot be the sponsoring department);
  2. To assist the Community in discussing how they would want to be involved in drawing up the Terms of Reference;
  3. To assist the Community in communicating to the Government their own understanding of the next steps that need to be taken to set up the Inquiry.

Registration

Anyone who wants to attend should register in advance by emailing Diana Johnson MP on JOHNSOND@parliament.uk. The deadline for registration is the 5th September.

Travel Costs

Receipted, reasonable travel expenses will be met by the UK Government.  Further information on how to reclaim travel costs following the meeting. The UK Government is, however, not able to cover accommodation costs.

We are grateful to The Haemophilia Society who are involved in organising this meeting and provided this information in their capacity as the Secretariat to the APPG on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood.

What research question would do most to #StopTheBleeding?

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Stop the bleeding

A Bleeding Disorders priority setting partnership (PSP) has been formed in conjunction with The James Lind Alliance and they are asking for your help.

The PSP is compiling a list of the 10 most important unanswered questions about bleeding disorders.  Once finished, the list will be used to promote research and attract funding.  It’s is very important that research goes into areas which have an impact on the lives of individuals and families with inherited bleeding disorders.  That is why the PSP want to encourage those who live with the conditions to feed in their ideas and propose research questions.

All you need to do to take part is complete a short online survey.

Stop The Bleeding Survey

The JLA is a non-profit making initiative which is a branch of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The experience of the JLA with conducting PSPs is helping us shape and organise this project. You can find details about the JLA and other PSPs here.

Haemophilia Scotland is not a member of the PSP Steering Group but we are supportive of their objectives.

A big THANK YOU to John Lewis Glasgow

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JL Donation

We are extremely grateful for a big box of fantastic fabrics which will be used as part of the quilting project being launched by our Women’s Group on the 24th of September.

It was donated by the good people at John Lewis in Glasgow and will really get the project off to a flying start.

If you’d like to join us at the Scottish Quilt Championships and for afternoon tea then please register today.

UK Contaminated Blood and Blood Products Inquiry and Meeting

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britain

Since Haemophilia Scotland was established we have tried to report back as quickly as possible about all of our activities.  Therefore, we wanted to keep you up to date with developments in the last couple of weeks since the UK Inquiry into the contaminated blood and blood products disaster was announced.

We received a copy of a letter from Diana Johnson MP, Co-Chair of the All Party Group (APPG) on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood to the Prime Minister which raised three main issues,

  1. That the Department of Health are not the appropriate department for overseeing the establishment of the Inquiry.
  2. The need for clarity on the timetable for establishing the Inquiry.
  3. The need to establish a safe repository for evidence which could be of interest to the Inquiry.

In our reply we supported these calls and provided information from our experience of the Penrose Inquiry to support her.

The Department of Health called a consultation meeting at short notice early in the morning in central London.  The meeting was boycotted by the vast majority of campaign groups including The Haemophilia Society and Haemophilia Wales.  Haemophilia Scotland neither joined the boycott nor attended the meeting.  We are anxious to have a substantive conversation, on the powers and terms of reference of the Inquiry, but is clear that the Department of Health cannot be the responsible Department.

We have had a meeting with the Scottish Infected Blood Forum (SIBF) and agreed to work as closely as possible together with them, and other independent Scottish campaigners.  We hope we can build on the relationships forged following the Penrose Inquiry to have a strong collective voice highlighting the Scottish dimensions to the establishment of the UK Inquiry.

To give everyone affected in Scotland a chance to feed into our collective thinking we are holding a joint members’ meeting at 2pm on Saturday 26th August in the Lomond Room of the Edinburgh Park (The Gyle) Premier Inn.  This is a private meeting and so you must register if you want to attend. The meeting will discuss what lessons can be learnt in from the Penrose Inquiry and what we’d like to see in the terms of reference for the UK Inquiry. We have also jointly written to Nicola Sturgeon MSP, First Minister, to ask her to ensure that Scottish Government engage with the Inquiry and urge the UK Government to work with those affected.

We joined a telephone conference call arranged by Diana Johnson MP and Sir Peter Bottomley MP as Co-chairs of the APPG.  The purpose of the call was to hear from the Bishop of Liverpool who offered to act as an intermediary with the Government.   The Bishop made it clear that he did not believe that the Department of Health were the appropriate part of Government to oversee the Inquiry. He also stated that he believed a proper consultation would take about six months. His remarks on timing are in line with the Government’s own guidelines on consultation.

Since the call, and following legal advice, some campaigners, have said they are not happy with this approach. They fear if the Bishop opens a dialogue with the Department of Health that could legitimise their involvement.  Haemophilia Scotland is keen to work with the Bishop to find a way to find an appropriate part of Government to conduct a meaningful consultation.

Both Haemophilia Scotland and the Scottish Infected Blood Forum have approached Patrick McGuire at Thompsons Solicitors about continuing to represent us and he has agreed.  Patrick and Thompsons bring the experience of having won a judicial review and secured a Public Inquiry and then representing the patient interest during it.  It is our hope that Thompsons will be included on equal terms with any law firms working on group actions.

Finally, the Scottish Contaminated Blood Memorial Fund is continuing to raise funds for a lasting memorial to remember those affected by the disaster.  Donations can be made online or by texting CBME23 and the amount to 70070. So, to donate ten pounds your text should read “CBME23 £10”.

Further Information

The House of Commons Library has produced two briefing papers on Public Inquiries which will help anyone who would like to understand the various options in more detail.

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