Penrose Inquiry

The Penrose Inquiry was established in April 2009 to examine NHS Scotland's involvement in the use of infected blood and blood products, particularly relating to HIV and hepatitis C transmission through blood transfusions and blood products between 1970 and 1991. Lord Penrose published his final report on 25 March 2015.

The inquiry made a single recommendation: that the Scottish Government should take steps to offer testing for hepatitis C to anyone in Scotland who had a blood transfusion before September 1991 and who had not already been tested.

While no formal government response was published, the Scottish Government established a Short-Life Working Group with Health Protection Scotland and Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service to develop a testing programme. According to progress updates, this testing programme was established by December 2015.

The limited scope of the Penrose Inquiry's recommendations drew criticism from some affected individuals and campaigners who had hoped for broader findings on accountability and compensation. The progress update notes that the subsequent UK-wide Infected Blood Inquiry, which reported in 2024, made more comprehensive recommendations covering compensation schemes and systemic reforms.

The available evidence indicates that the single recommendation regarding hepatitis C testing was acted upon through the establishment of a testing programme. However, the broader issues of infected blood and blood products continued to be examined through the later UK-wide inquiry, which addressed matters beyond the narrow remit of the Penrose Inquiry.