GPs in England and their patients are to help the NHS find more victims of the contaminated blood scandal.It is thought thousands of people could have been exposed to the hepatitis C virus through contaminated blood transfusions in the 1970s, 80s and 90s; part of a scandal which affected more than 30,000 people in the UK.From June, patients signing up to a GP practice, who received a blood transfusion before 1996, will be offered a test for hepatitis C.The BBC revealed the scale of undiagnosed cases last year, as people with life-threatening liver damage caused by the virus over many years continue to be identified.Hepatitis C can now be treated by modern anti-viral drugs to eliminate the virus for most patients.But if it goes undetected and undiagnosed there may not be any noticeable symptoms for some time and it can infect the liver and cause serious damage, leaving the organ beyond repair.Maureen Arkley, who died last year, was diagnosed with hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver in 2023, more than 40 years after she had an operation involving multiple blood transfusions. These were on her medical records but she was not told by her GP or anyone in the NHS that she could have been exposed to the virus.BBC News highlighted her case as one of many people let down by the lack of testing following the infected blood scandal.It is one of the biggest treatment disasters in NHS history – 3,000 people who were infected with HIV and hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood p …
