'A gripping narrative, strengthened by Wheeler's longstanding connection to the story' Financial Times
'Moving, angering' The Times
The definitive account of the NHS infected blood scandal from Journalist of the Year at the British Journalism Awards 2024
In the 1970s and 1980s almost 5,000 haemophiliacs were infected with HIV or hepatitis C after being given contaminated NHS blood products. So far more than 2,800 people are known to have died in what has been described as the 'worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS'.
Sunday Times political editor Caroline Wheeler has been reporting on the scandal for two decades. She has been pivotal to the campaign for justice for the victims, whose stories form the heart of this book. As the long-running Infected Blood Inquiry delivers its final verdict Death in the Blood is an unforgettable epic of human suffering, loss and survival against the odds.
'Caroline has been so supportive to the victims and survivors of the NHS contaminated blood scandal. She has been an integral part of our long fight for justice and enabled people like me to speak out with confidence, when there was little confidence before' Ade Goodyear, former pupil at Treloar School
Caroline Wheeler is political editor of The Sunday Times. As a lobby journalist she has an insider's knowledge of Westminster and Whitehall. Caroline has reported on the contaminated blood scandal for over 20 years and her work has been credited by politicians, including the former health secretary Andy Burnham, with helping to bring about the Infected Blood Inquiry. She was awarded Journalist of the Year at the British Journalism Awards 2024 for her work on the infected blood scandal.