Mrs Dodds asked the Minister of Health to outline the measures that he will take following the publication of the infected blood inquiry report on Monday 20 May 2024.

Principal Deputy Speaker, with your indulgence, I have a substantial answer to the Member's question because I had hoped to bring a fuller statement to the Assembly to follow up on the announcement on compensation, which was made just a few hours ago.

Supporting victims of contaminated blood has always been one of my top priorities since first becoming Health Minister in 2020. I have met, on many occasions, those from that community, and I am aware of the life-changing impacts and financial hardship that people have endured as a result of receiving a devastating diagnosis following treatment with contaminated blood used by the NHS. The anguish and trauma that they have endured over many decades is inconceivable. The health service's use of contaminated blood in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in untold suffering and loss, and I reiterate my Department's apology and my apology to all those in the infected and/or affected community in Northern Ireland. They were failed by the system that should have been there to help them. For that, I am deeply sorry.

While I welcome the publication of the final report from the infected blood inquiry, I also recognise that it is a poignant time for so many. The publication of the final report will be a watershed for victims, many of whom have given evidence to the inquiry. It will, no doubt, have been a traumatic experience, opening up old wounds and bringing back painful memories that they would prefer to forget. Those victims are to be applauded for their courage and dignity in coming forward to tell their stories. It is with deep regret that we cannot undo the actions of the past. However, it is incumbent on those of us in government and in the health service to ensure that it never happens again.

I am grateful to Sir Brian Langstaff and his team for their thorough work to produce a comprehensive report, which was published in seven volumes that were released yesterday, comprising 2,500 pages and 12 recommendations, including 50 individual recommendations. The detailed recommendations of the final report are wide-ranging, cutting across a range of areas in my Department, including quality, safety, improvement and workforce policy, as well as the culture and working practices of the wider Executive, Civil Service and the health and social care system. Addressing the recommendations will require a collective effort and coordination of communications in collaboration with the infected and affected community.

I want to carefully consider the details in the report and its recommendations published yesterday. Therefore, I am not yet in a position to respond in detail. I am, however, committed to working with my ministerial colleagues, on a four-nations basis as well as across the Northern Ireland Executive, to respond, because I do not doubt that the work of the inquiry and its recommendations will help to inform and shape the delivery of healthcare in Northern Ireland in the future.

Thank you, Madam Deputy Principal Speaker. Sorry, I probably got that all wrong again.

Minister, most people will acknowledge that you have said that people were failed by the system and that you are sorry and hope that it will never happen again. However, we have to take concrete steps to make sure that it does not happen again. One of those concrete steps is a statutory duty of candour. I have asked you about that in Committee, and it came up during the hyponatraemia inquiry in relation to the case of Claire Roberts. Will the Minister outline to the House where we are with the statutory duty of candour? Can we expect to see legislation on that in the near future?

I thank the Member for that point. In the report that was published yesterday, Sir Brian included a wide-ranging recommendation that a statutory duty of candour be placed on government and Executives. There are other recommendations regarding the duty of candour, and, as the Member said, it has been referred to in other inquiry reports. The Member will be aware that we are looking at an overarching outcomes quality framework and how to bring together all the outstanding recommendations from all the inquiries — I think that I mentioned that when I was in front of the Committee. The recommendations from Sir Brian, yesterday, strengthen that position on where we want to go, as a Department, on making sure that we get this right.

It is also important to say that, before I left office when I was previously Health Minister, I had written to my counterparts in England, Scotland and Wales about bringing forward a duty of candour on a UK-wide basis to make sure that we were working to the same level and standards across all four health services. Sir Brian's recommendation, from yesterday, goes a step further regarding that duty of candour, because it includes government. The failings, especially around the infected blood, were shown to be from not just the health service but across government. Those wider failings were acknowledged yesterday in what was a very moving outworking, when Sir Brian presented his report, in Central Hall, to many, including people who had been infected, people who had been affected and people who had lost loved ones.

I share the sentiments of others and send out our solidarity to all the families who have been impacted. One of the people affected is Nigel Hamilton, chair of Haemophilia NI. We met him recently with the Health Committee. He lost his brother Simon in December. The inquiry report will be healing, but we have a long road to go.

The Minister may or may not be able to answer my question today, given what he has just said. The British Government have said that they expect payments to be made in the next 90 days. Is there any indication of how that will look for people here in the North who are affected as much as anyone in Britain? Will it affect anyone who is already engaging with the compensation scheme?

I thank the Chair for her comments. I spoke with Nigel yesterday regarding the event. Simon's voice was used in some of the video evidence that was given to the inquiry and, yesterday, when the findings of the report were being presented. Northern Ireland has a number of advocates and champions for that group, but those two brothers have borne a heavy workload, along with many others, such as Conan McIlwrath and Paul from Londonderry, who have undertaken work on behalf of the group. Many, many others were involved, but I do not want to leave anyone out, so I will not name anyone else.

We were not given sight of the announcement on payments that was made today in Westminster. The representatives and I met Minister Glen, on 3 May this year, regarding what the compensation package might look like. He did not give us any detail at that stage, so we were listening to the statement as he made it today. I hope that I will have received it in writing by the time I return from responding to this question for urgent oral answer.

I can reassure the Chair that we were able to process the previous payment of £100,000 through the Business Services Organisation (BSO), because there is a payment process there. I have already explored the situation. Once I have received that money from Westminster, we can, by direction, transfer it to BSO. We will make those payments in the same time frame as the rest of the UK. When we met Minister Glen, at the start of this month, one of the commitments made was that there would be no postcode differential in how those who had been infected and affected would be treated or supported through the compensation package, because we believe — I believe — that they have already been failed by the state. To delay that because of where someone lives would be a further failure.

The Minister will be aware of the many inquiries into patient safety failings in Northern Ireland. We have already mentioned the hyponatraemia inquiry and we also had the neurology inquiry. How are the findings and recommendations of all those inquiries being knitted together and progressed in Northern Ireland?

The Member makes a valid point about those other inquiries and their recommendations. As I said in my answer to Mrs Dodds, there is a need for an overarching quality framework. I think that the Committee has scheduled — or it may have already received — a presentation on what that looks like. The Member will get the opportunity then to have a look at how we will bring all the recommendations together, rather than looking at individual recommendations from individual inquiries. Unfortunately, there is a commonality across many of the recommendations, so it makes sense that we bring those forward in a single set of actions.

I welcome the fact that the Minister was in London in person yesterday for the publication of the inquiry report. I suspect that that was appreciated by the local individuals and families affected. It is a scandal that should never have happened, and the tone and content of the report rightly highlighted the multiple failings. Will the Minister join me in, once again, calling on anyone who feels that they may have been impacted to come forward and speak to health professionals? They suffered a great wrong, and it is only right that they should receive the compensation that they are entitled to.

The Member makes a valid point. I wish to use this question for urgent oral answer to urge people who think that they have been infected or affected to come forward to their GP or look for the additional support that is out there. The payments will be made to those who are already on our schemes. It is important that those who feel that they have been infected or affected also take the step of making themselves known to their GPs and coming forward through the health service.

We remember all those who were impacted by this scandal. I think of my constituent Brian who passed away a few weeks ago.

Meaningful counselling and specialist psychological support is of real importance to those impacted, and it is referenced in the report. Do you envisage making any of those services available to people who were impacted here?

As part of the support that has been provided by the Belfast Trust, through the specific contaminated blood unit, that has been asked about and explored. If there is a further need, I am open to it. I understand that that support is available currently. Given his comments, I will follow up with the Member on whether it needs to be expanded or looked at again.

I have listened intently to what the Minister has said. It is important that we do not throw some of these elements, like the duty of candour and one thing or another, into process. It is important that we act on the issues that have come out of these inquiries — in particular, the cultural issues. How does the Minister intend to resolve those cultural issues, which are deeply embedded and particularly so in Northern Ireland given our small healthcare system?

I thank the Member for her point. Looking at a number of the inquiries that we have had, I think that that culture needs to be challenged. I refer to Sir Brian's comments yesterday. It was a very powerful experience to hear him go through his rationale and reasons and, especially, to hear him identify the people who have been failed by the system. He also said what Governments need to do, not just the Westminster Government but our Government in Northern Ireland. He talked about a duty of candour and how Governments should take on that duty of candour in how they address their culture. All the devolved Administrations and Westminster should look at that as we work our way through these recommendations. I do not say this lightly: we must make sure that we can provide reassurance to anyone who looks to the Government or the health service in Northern Ireland. Those people should be able to trust and believe in the advice, guidance and support that they are given.

I concur with the good wishes that the Minister offered to the campaigners over the years.

Minister, what reassurance can you give to people who engage with the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service and those who may be going in for an operation etc that this sort of thing would not happen today?

Anyone who listened to Sir Brian's comments yesterday about where the failings were will know that the British Government did not act quickly enough on the heat treatment of blood products and did not pool plasma donations, rather than having a wider complement. I took from his report yesterday that there is a belief now that the supply of blood for our Blood Transfusion Service here in Northern Ireland is safe, particularly given the investment that we have made in it. I hope that no one takes it away from this that, in receiving a blood transfusion in Northern Ireland or having an operation, those risks remain. We have put quality standards in place for the treatment of blood that is donated prior to it being given in donations or transfusions to those who need it.

I commend the work of Brian Langstaff, the chair of the inquiry. He has done a tremendous job. He has gathered evidence over the past six years and presented a thorough report and recommendations. He has been a real champion of the victims of the blood scandal.

Minister, will individuals have a right of appeal against the compensation that they are awarded?

Again, I thank the Member. As I said, we had no notification that the statement was being made; rightly, the Minister wanted the families to be the first to hear it. I understand that there is an early action for an interim payment of £210,000 to those who were infected with HIV and/or hepatitis C and are currently registered with the financial support schemes. The new compensation scheme that was recommended by Sir Brian in his second report will award compensation across five heads of loss: an injury impact award; a social impact award; an autonomy award; a care award; and a financial loss award. I am not aware of the exact details of delivery or whether there will be a right of appeal, but, as soon as I am, I will make sure that details are circulated to all Members.

I offer my solidarity to all of the victims as well.

Minister, one thing that is clear from the inquiry is that senior civil servants in Britain destroyed documents relating to patients and former patients to cover their tracks in the scandal. Does the Minister know whether any of the patient records that were cancelled or destroyed in Britain related to patients here or whether any documents that were destroyed here related to former patients here?

I do not have that detail.

Members should take their ease while we change the top Table.

(Mr Deputy Speaker [Mr Blair] in the Chair)