Episode description

The plasma product Factor VIII was heralded in the 1960s as a miracle treatment that helped those with haemophilia to live fuller lives. By the 1980s it was killing them in their thousands, as the product from the US was riddled with hepatitis and AIDs. The investigative journalist Cara McGoogan pieces together the sorry tale of medical negligence, commercial greed and government failures in The Poison Line: A True Story of Death, Deception and Infected Blood.

In many other countries inquiries have been held, compensation paid out and individuals sent to prison, but the victims and their families in the UK are still waiting, 40 years later. Jason Evans was just 4 years old when his father died after being infected by HIV in Factor VIII. He has dedicated his adult life to getting to the truth and is now awaiting the findings of the public inquiry which began in 2018, and is expected to publish its report in March 2024.

The public health expert and physician Dr Gabriel Scally is a veteran of medical inquires – from the Bristol heart scandal to the Cervical Smear failures in Ireland. He has spent his career arguing for a system of clinical governance with a duty of candour placed not just on organisations but individual medics too. He tells Tom Sutcliffe why he thinks scandals and cover-ups continue to happen, and whether a public inquiry is the best way to get to the truth.

Producer: Katy Hickman