A Bristol woman who was orphaned after her parents died with HIV has promised to continue campaigning until those affected by the infected blood scandal have been compensated. Laura Palmer, 39, was just nine when her parents, Stephen and Barbara Palmer, died eight days apart with HIV and Hepatitis C in August 1993.
Mr Palmer, a severe haemophiliac, received the blood clotting Factor VII in 1979 but was unaware it was contaminated. After testing positive for HIV, and dismissing medical advice to wear a condom during sex, he went on to infect his wife.
Ms Palmer said the Government’s announcement on Wednesday of interim compensation for contaminated blood survivors and their partners was “a step forward”. But she added that there were many other families who were excluded from the payments.
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The scandal resulted in around 2,400 deaths of patients infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s. New cases of of HIV and hepatitis are being diagnosed decades later, with the scandal being labelled the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS.
Ms Palmer, a make-up artist currently studying for a forensic science degree in Bristol, said: “This was all so avoidable, and then people went to great lengths to conceal the problem and not tell patients how serious it was. Everything from the start was just wrong.
“I don’t feel anger (over the scandal), as such, because I don’t want it to eat me up. It’s more about getting that acknowledgment that everybody deserves.
"I am doing this because it feels like a duty. I don’t want them to get away with this. It’s been a long time getting to this stage. It (compensation) is a step in the right direction.
"There are still a lot of bereaved families excluded, so there is more work for us to do until those families are included. It’s about recognition.
"It’s just the enormity of it (the contamination), so many hundreds of people affected then and still today. I just want to do it and help get justice for everyone, not just myself.”
Ms Palmer said the death of her parents “was devastating”. She was separated from her half-brothers and sent to live with another family.
She said: “It didn’t feel real at the time. I think when you’re that age, you don’t understand or comprehend what’s going on.
“It didn’t hit me until a few years later. Everything in my life changed so dramatically, the upheaval was awful.
“I remember thinking nothing is going to be the same again. It was devastating.
“Factor VIII was supposed to prolong my father’s life, not take him and my mum prematurely.”
Kate Burt, chief executive of the Haemophilia Society, echoed Ms Palmer’s calls for compensation to all those who suffered. She said the “majority” of the bereaved are currently left with nothing.
Ms Burt said: ‘Finally, after nearly five decades the government has accepted it must pay compensation to those infected as a result of the contaminated blood scandal. This is a significant development.
“However, the majority of the bereaved, including parents and the children of those who died, will receive nothing. Steps must be taken now to set up a workable scheme which can deliver full compensation quickly and fairly to all those who suffered devastating loss because of this NHS treatment disaster.”
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