Bespoke Psychological Service
Infected Blood Inquiry · Second Interim Report · Issued 5 April 2023 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
I recommend that without delay steps be taken to provide a bespoke psychological service in England.
Infected Blood Inquiry, Second Interim Report · 5 Apr 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- IBCA provides access to psychological support as part of the claims process (IBCA Community Update, January 2026).
- No independent assessment of the scope or accessibility of the bespoke psychological service in England has been identified in published reports to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government — initial response
With respect to recommendations 15 and 17 of the Second Interim Report, the Government acknowledges the immense psychological harm that has been caused as a result of this scandal, and is committed to offering psychological support to those impacted by this scandal. Bespoke psychological support for the infected and affected people is already offered in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England, the Infected Blood Psychological Service began supporting its first patients in some parts of the country in late August 2024, with providers building up capacity over the following six months until they are up and running in all areas of England in Spring 2025. The Government also recognises the need to support applicants through the process of claiming compensation, and as such, the IBCA aims to ensure that appropriate advice and support is available to assist people awarded compensation to manage their compensation awards, access financial services, and access benefits advice where relevant.
UK Government · 17 Dec 2024 Written response →
●UK Government — follow-up
NHS England has implemented enhanced psychological support services for those affected by the infected blood scandal. Dedicated services are available through the NHS.
UK Government · 14 May 2025 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 17 Dec 2024 Psychological support services implemented in England. Source →
- 15 Jan 2026 · IBCA Community Update As of 13 January 2026: 3,721 people asked to start claims, 3,546 begun process, 3,074 received offers totalling £2.47bn, 2,861 paid totalling £1.89bn. Third compensation regulations in force 31 December 2025. View source → Good Progress
- 28 Oct 2025 · IBCA Independent Review IBCA has contacted 2,215 people to begin compensation claims; 1,934 started process. £812m+ paid via Horizon Shortfall Scheme. £11.8bn committed in Autumn Budget. View source → Reasonable Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.