Update on Infected Blood Inquiry recommendations in Scotland

Scotland continues to make steady progress in putting the recommendations of the Infected Blood Inquiry into practice.

The Inquiry examined how Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV were passed on through blood and plasma products from the 1970s to the early 1990s. Its final report was published in May 2024, and the Inquiry will close in March 2026.

To oversee Scotland’s response, the Scottish Government created the Infected Blood Inquiry Oversight and Assurance Group. This group includes experts, NHS partners and representatives of those directly affected.

Several recommendations focus on improving safety and learning across the NHS. Updated guidance on the Duty of Candour was issued in 2025, and a wider review of how it is applied in organisations is underway. Training for staff involved in transfusion is being refreshed, with new materials developed using testimony from people affected by contaminated blood.

Health Boards have also been asked to retain any documents that may support applications to the Infected Blood Compensation Authority until at least 2031.

Scotland is reviewing its five‑year transfusion plan, supported by new national safety standards. Additional transfusion practitioner roles are being created, including in remote and rural areas, to strengthen support for hospitals.

Work is also underway to modernise transfusion laboratories and improve the digital systems that record and monitor transfusions. This will help ensure every transfusion is properly tracked and reviewed.

New guidance on consent for transfusion has been published, and clearer information for both donors and patients is being developed. Updated advice now recommends that anyone who received a transfusion in the UK before 1996 and has not been tested should be offered tests for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV.

Scotland is also strengthening support for people with Sickle Cell Disorder, including improving access to rare blood types.

• Find out more about the Infected Blood Inquiry