Subscribe to Search results

It was suggested in oral evidence that in February 1983 there were around 1,500 members of the Haemophilia Society. Members included "interested" parties, such as family members, nurses and social workers.

Published on:

Haemophilia Society trustees attended large London haemophilia centres but did not appreciate the fact that at a local outpatient level "there was really no informed knowledge of haemophilia by the medics who were looking after patients".

Published on:

The Haemophilia Society received medical journals from The Lancet and The British Medical Journal but these were rarely ever read. If an article was considered relevant it would be brought to the trustees' attention.

Published on:

The Haemophilia Society would have received information from newspaper journalists, pharmaceutical companies, civil servants at the Department of Health and Social Security, the Medical Advisory Panel and the UKHCDO.

Published on:

At the beginning of his time at the Haemophilia Society, David Watters suggested there was a "a lack of outreach and lack of grasp of big issues".

Published on:

David Watters stated in oral evidence that the make-up of the Medical Advisory Panel was not as diverse as it could have been and consisted of individuals "who had been around for a very long time".

Published on:

David Watters stated in oral evidence that the Haemophilia Society prioritised maintaining close relationships with influential clinicians.

Published on:

David Watters saw the appointments to the Medical Advisory Panel in the 1980s as nepotistic.

Published on:

In the 1980s the Haemophilia Society only took advice from senior members of the UKHCDO which kept them from examining policies on treatment and recommendations made by the UKHCDO.

Published on:

In 2017 David Watters was shown a letter produced by the Department of Health around 1980, in which Professor Bloom was told to advise patients to continue to use imported blood products as the benefits outweighed the risks.

Published on:

At a board meeting of the Haemophilia Society David Watters and Clive Knight had "great trouble" convincing the trustees of the Executive Committee that AIDS was going to be a problem.

Published on:

There was no reference made to AIDS at the Executive Committee of the Haemophilia Society on 3 March 1983.

Published on:

At a meeting between the Minister of State for Health and the Haemophilia Society, David Watters believed that self-sufficiency should not be achieved solely for economic reasons, but that "it was based entirely on the health of people with haemophilia."

Published on:

In his evidence to the Inquiry, David Watters agreed that non-A non-B Hepatitis was not foremost in the Society's mind in 1981 and it was considered a mild condition.

Published on:

Professor Bloom was heavily influential over the Society, however the Society did not seek advice from anyone else.

Published on:

Any doubts that the Society may have had about imported products were not expressed to the membership, nor did they lobby against the use of the pre-March US products.

Published on:

The membership had become aware of a crisis looming and that damage may have already been done.

Published on:

The Society had not been aware of another viable alternative and went along with the advice that they were given.

Published on:

David Watters agreed in his oral evidence that it had been somewhat odd for the Society to share negative advice about the prospects of litigation with their members. Giving out an adverse opinion to third parties, which had been confidential to the Society, was waiving confidentiality.

Published on:

The Society did not read medical and scientific information with other bodies, such as the either the Irish society or the US society. However, David Watters confirmed in his oral evidence that there were regular meetings with the Irish Haemophilia Society.

Published on: