Read a summary of this week’s inquiry evidence

Written by Jessica Bomford, December 10, 2021

This week the inquiry heard 5 days of evidence from 4 experts in the blood services field in the last public hearings of 2021.

Witnesses were asked about the national hepatitis C look-back exercise in 1995 as well as the HIV look-back in 1985 and the emergence of new variant CJD in 1996.

First witness was Dr Colin Entwistle, consultant director of Oxford Blood Transfusion Centre from 1980 to 1995, who was followed by Dr George Galea, senior registrar and then consultant in transfusion medicine at Aberdeen and North East of Scotland Blood Transfusion Service from 1984 to 1993 and director of Inverness and North of Scotland Blood Transfusion Service from 1993 to 1996). He was also director of Dundee and East of Scotland Blood Transfusion Service from 1996 to 1999 and tissues and cells director at the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service from 1999 to 2013.

Next was Dr Dr Lorna Williamson, honorary consultant haematologist at East Anglia Blood Transfusion Centre from 1991 to 1994 and clinical lead for blood components at London and South East Zone of the National Blood Service from 1994 to 1999. She was also national clinical director for components for the National Blood Service from 1999 to 2007 and medical and research director at NHS Blood and Transplant from 2007 to 2016.

Dr Patricia Hewitt, pictured, gave evidence for 2 days. She was consultant haematologist at North London Blood Transfusion Centre from 1984 to 1995 and lead consultant in transfusion microbiology at the  London and South East Zone of the National Blood Service from 1995 to 2000. She was national lead consultant in transfusion microbiology at the National Blood Service and then NHS Blood and Transplant from 2000 to 2018.

Click here for a summary of this week’s evidence.

Transcripts of the evidence are available here. A weekly summary of all previous hearings can be found here.

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