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Establish a committee to advise on haemophilia; to make provision in relation |
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to blood donations; to establish a scheme for NHS Compensation Cards for |
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people who have been treated with and infected by contaminated blood or |
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blood products; to make provision for the financial compensation of people |
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treated with and infected by contaminated blood and blood products and |
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their widows, dependants and carers; to establish a review of the support |
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available for people who have been treated with and infected by contaminated |
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blood or blood products; and for connected purposes. |
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Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and |
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consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present |
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Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— |
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1 | Committee to advise on treatment of haemophilia |
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(1) | Within six months of the passing of this Act, the Secretary of State shall by |
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regulations establish a Committee (“the Committee”) to advise on the |
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treatment of haemophilia in the United Kingdom. |
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(2) | The Committee shall in particular provide advice on— |
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(a) | the selection, procurement and delivery of available therapies for |
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people with haemophilia and, in particular, those treated with and |
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infected by contaminated National Health Service (NHS) blood or |
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(b) | the accessibility for people with haemophilia to haemophilia |
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treatments and to treatments for conditions which arise from |
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(c) | the financial and other needs of people with haemophilia; |
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(d) | how provisions for people treated with and infected by contaminated |
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NHS blood or blood products compare with those in other countries. |
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(3) | The membership of the Committee shall include— |
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(a) | specialist haemophilia clinicians; |
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(b) | representatives of the Haemophilia Society; |
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(c) | representatives of the Department of Health; |
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(d) | representatives of people with haemophilia, through nomination by |
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the Haemophilia Society and other bodies working to support people |
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(4) | The Secretary of State shall consult the Committee before making substantial |
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changes in policy regarding the treatment of people with haemophilia and |
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before introducing legislation which affects them. |
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(5) | If the Committee deems it necessary, the Secretary of State shall by regulations |
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establish one or more regional sub-committees to exercise prescribed functions |
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which fall to the Committee. |
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(1) | The Secretary of State shall by regulations establish a system to ensure that all |
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people with haemophilia who have received blood or blood products under |
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the NHS, and any partners of those people, are offered a test for the conditions |
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listed in subsection (2). |
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(c) | human immunodeficiency virus, |
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(d) | human T-lymphotropic virus, |
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(f) | variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. |
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(3) | The Secretary of State shall also by regulations establish a system to ensure that |
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the blood supply is made safe through the implementation of prion filtration |
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and that all blood donors are routinely tested for the conditions listed in |
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(4) | The Committee shall keep under review the list of conditions in subsection (2) |
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and shall make recommendations to the Secretary of State as to the addition or |
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removal of medical conditions in the list as appropriate. |
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(5) | Upon a recommendation from the Committee as to the alteration of the list of |
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medical conditions in subsection (2), the Secretary of State shall by regulations |
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amend the system for testing accordingly. |
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3 | Treatment of people treated with and infected by contaminated NHS blood or |
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(1) | The Secretary of State shall by regulations establish a scheme to issue NHS |
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Compensation Cards to all people who have been treated with and infected by |
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contaminated blood or blood products under the NHS. |
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(2) | The scheme shall make provision to allow holders of NHS Compensation |
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Cards to access the following benefits free of charge under the NHS— |
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(d) | occupational therapies and other therapies allied to medicine, |
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(3) | The scheme shall also make provision to allow holders of NHS Compensation |
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Cards to receive priority NHS treatment whenever possible. |
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4 | Financial compensation for people treated with and infected by contaminated |
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NHS blood or blood products |
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(1) | The Secretary of State shall by regulations make provisions to allow the |
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following beneficiaries to claim for financial compensation— |
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(a) | persons who have received contaminated blood or blood products |
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under the NHS and contracted any of the conditions listed in section |
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(b) | persons who have been, or are still, unable to work because they have |
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acted, or still act, as the primary carer of a person within paragraph (a), |
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(c) | widows and other dependants of a person within paragraph (a). |
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(2) | The regulations shall ensure that payment of the compensation will— |
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(a) | take the form of an initial capital sum, followed by prescribed |
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(b) | be paid directly to the beneficiary, rather than through a separate trust |
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(d) | not be dependent upon the initial reason for which the person was first |
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given contaminated NHS blood or blood products, |
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(e) | not be dependent on the age of the person when contaminated NHS |
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blood or blood products were given, |
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(f) | not be dependent on when an infected person received contaminated |
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NHS blood or blood products, |
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(g) | in the case of a carer, widow or dependant, and where the person being |
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cared for has subsequently died, not be dependent on the date of death |
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(h) | not affect the calculation of any other benefits to which the beneficiary |
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(3) | The regulations shall also make provisions to ensure that where the beneficiary |
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is a child, the compensation will be paid to a parent or guardian of that child. |
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(4) | When making the regulations the Secretary of State shall have regard to any |
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comparable compensation schemes offered in other countries. |
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(5) | The Secretary of State shall establish an appeal mechanism for those persons |
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whose claims for compensation made pursuant to subsection (1) are rejected. |
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(1) | Within six months of the passing of this Act, the Secretary of State shall, in |
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conjunction with the Committee, establish a review into— |
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(a) | the conditions under which widows and other dependants of people |
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who have been treated with and infected by contaminated NHS blood |
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or blood products, and subsequently died, become eligible for benefits; |
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(b) | the provision of medical insurance for people who have been treated |
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with and infected by contaminated NHS blood or blood products, |
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(c) | the number of people who may have unknowingly been treated with |
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and infected by contaminated NHS blood products, and the way in |
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which these people could be informed and supported; |
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(d) | the amount and sources of funding for charities which support people |
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(2) | Within one year of the passing of this Act, the Secretary of State shall lay a |
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report before Parliament setting out the findings and recommendations of the |
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6 | Regulations, short title, commencement and extent |
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(1) | Regulations made by the Secretary of State under this Act are to be made by |
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(2) | A statutory instrument which contains any regulations made under this Act is |
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subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of |
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Parliament, unless it is an instrument to which subsection (3) applies. |
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(3) | A statutory instrument which contains, whether alone or with other |
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provisions, any regulations made under section 2(5) or 4 may not be made |
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unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a |
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resolution of, each House of Parliament. |
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(4) | This Act may be cited as the Contaminated Blood (Support for Infected and |
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Bereaved Persons) Act 2010. |
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(5) | This Act shall come into force on the day on which it is passed. |
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(6) | This Act extends to England and Wales only. |
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(7) | Nothing in this Act shall impose any charge on the people or on public |
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funds, or vary the amount or incidence of or otherwise alter any such charge |
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in any manner, or affect the assessment, levying, administration or |
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application of any money raised by any such charge. |
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