Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of palliative care arrangements and support in place for the victims of the contaminated blood scandal.

The England Infected Blood Support Scheme (EIBSS) does not currently have direct support provisions for palliative care arrangements. EIBSS does however support beneficiaries to manage their health conditions via discretionary one-off payments.

Discretionary one-off payments are a form of financial support that beneficiaries and bereaved spouses/partners may apply for to cover the cost of certain essential, health-related items or services.

Some examples of the one-off payments we support are for home adaptations and repairs to support an individual’s medical conditions, assisting with respite breaks to aid recovery from periods of ill health and supporting the attendance of appointments by providing payments for car repairs and travel costs.

A full list of the items or services currently supported through EIBSS is available on the NHS Business Services Authority website at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/support-scheme-members/discretionary-support-scheme