Stratford family of Barrie Dennis attend conclusion of the blood scandal inquiry; wife Debra shares heartbreaking story of long wait for justice

An inquiry into the blood scandal was launched in 2017, and after many painful and protracted years, this week former judge Sir Brian Langstaff, who chaired the inquiry, revealed its findings.

He slammed successive governments and medical professionals for “a catalogue of failures” and refusal to admit responsibility to save face and expense, and that deliberate attempts were made to conceal the scandal.

An estimated 3,000 people in the UK are believed to have died and thousands of others were left with lifelong illnesses after receiving blood or blood products tainted with HIV or hepatitis in the 1970s to the early 1990s.

Like many of those affected, Barrie had haemophilia, a condition affecting the blood’s ability to clot. In the 1970s, patients were given a new treatment that the UK imported from the United States. Some of the plasma used to make the blood products was traced to high-risk donors, including prison inmates, who were paid to give blood samples.

Debra is still incredulous that the blood scandal was allowed to happen.

“There’s documented evidence in the 40s and 50s about the danger of contaminated blood, and while the Federal Drug Agency in the US stopped using it, the British government carried on,” she said.

Born in 1949, Barrie had a mild form of haemophilia, but being given the contaminated blood products left him battling painful, debilitating illnesses caused by Hepatitis B and C all his life.

One of the most insidious things to come out of the inquiry is the way that haemophiliac boys, who were sent to a boarding school, Treloar’s, were referred to as ‘pups’ in medical notes and basically experimented on, given unproven products and ‘observed’ for research and academic purposes.

Even though authorities knew that many haemophiliacs had been infected with diseases including hepatitis B and C, and HIV from the contaminated blood, they kept the results of tests hidden from victims, with some only finding our many years later.

The couple don’t know when Barrie was infected – it could have been anytime, and on numerous occasions, from 1977 to 1989 when he was given Factor IX to help with clotting. They were kept in the dark about Barrie’s diagnosis of Hepatitis C, even though it was on his notes – and were, Debra says, treated “inhumanely” by some medics.

In the late-80s Debra was a nursing sister at St Mark’s in London when Hepatitis C was mentioned.

“I was told I could no longer work in A&E, there was a stigma,” added Debra. “But Barrie was not given any information or guidance, his infection was played down.”

Outrageously, even Debra was “treated as a guinea pig” when she was offered IVF around 1986 before they relly knew much about Barrie’s diagnoses. They have subsequently seen notes that indicate that medics knew there were potentially severe complications to Debra getting pregnant, that the couple were not told about.

Luckily, they had a healthy son. “When he was born they whisked him away and I suspect were doing blood tests on him, but they never told us about that.”

She continued: “We were finally told that Barrie had been infected with Hepatitis C, and even that was by letter. He was always in ill health, but we never knew why. He was in a lot of pain for a long, long time.”

Barrie suffered a catalogue of illnesses throughout his life, that left him “moody and difficult to live with at times,” said Debra. “His personality changed over the years as a result of medical complications.”

His catalogue of illnesses included chronic lung disease, skin cancer, bowel cancer and in 2013 Barrie had a liver transplant that left him with life-limiting amyloidosis and painful arthritis.

“Barrie was in and out of intensive care, he nearly died so many times. He lived with a death sentence over his head even though he had done nothing wrong. It affected us all.”

Barrie and Debra had two sons, Bart and Jacob, and have three grandchildren. The loss of Barrie in August 2022, and what they have all gone through, has left them all traumatised.

“We’re a very close family. Barrie doted on the children. We didn’t realise fully the impact the death of her grandfather was having on our youngest grandchild, Francesca, who is seven. She has had counselling at the Shake-speare Hospice and is doing well.

“Despite our closeness we all have our own pain. I tend to take mine to church. My faith has helped me a lot,” added Debra thoughtfully.

Even after everything that they have gone through, Debra says she is thankful.

“Barrie and I were always of the same opinion: that we have no control, we cannot change the past. The past has happened, and we’ve got through it. Barrie was lucky to have lived to 72. A lot of children infected never even reached adulthood.

“Barrie and I became close with the parents of those haemophiliac children.

“ It’s hard then to talk about your own struggles when you have parents living with the agonising pain and guilt of having injected their child with Factor 8 [contaminated clotting product] that killed them.

“Other people’s stories are heartbreaking,” added Debra. “One man lost his father, uncles and even his twin.”

Debra has nothing but praise for the inquiry team headed up by Sir Brian.

She and Barrie went every month to meet with the team and progress meetings and have forged a strong bond with around 50 other victims.

“We came to London up until Barrie became too ill. He last attended in June – knowing it was his last – and died in the August.

“Everyone involved in the inquiry is so lovely and respectful. Sir Brian reflected all of our feelings. After Monday, the families attended a service in the hall at Westminster – there was a choir, candles, singing. I came out on cloud nine.”

This emotional closure means more to Debra and her family than the financial settlement.

“Truthfully, the money is nothing really. What is enough? What figure would you put on it? There isn’t really anything to say to that.”