Treloar's School set to face legal action over contaminated blood scandal

ITV News Meridian's Social Affairs Correspondent Christine Alsford reports.

A former pupil of Treloars School in North Hampshire, who was caught up in the contaminated blood scandal of the 1970s and 80s, is preparing to take legal action against the school for negligence.

Gary Webster, from Eastleigh, was one of a number of schoolboys infected with HIV and hepatitis during routine treatment for haemophilia at an NHS unit within Treloars. 

They were among thousands of people who were infected in what's been described as the "biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS". 

For Gary Webster, it's the latest step in a long and painful fight stretching over nearly four decades. 

He's now preparing to sue the Hampshire boarding school where he received infected blood products -  as a boy.

Gary Webster said:

"I want recognition for the families that have lost boys, children. It's not about money - I want the college to recognise that there was a breach of duty of care - they had our welfare as our acting parents if you like - and I think they should have done more."

Gary was a hemophiliac and attended Treloars School in Alton where there was a specialist NHS treatment unit within the school. 

At first he was given conventional blood clotting drugs.  But was then switched to receive a new treatment called Factor 8 which hadn't been properly screened. It gave him - and dozens of other pupils HIV and hepatitis.  

An extensive public inquiry has been going on - since 2018. Gary says recent revelations from there about what went on at Treloars in the past triggered today's developments.

"The headmaster should have found out more about the treatments for the boys - and I think we should have been given a choice, whether we wanted to go on this new treatment which was sold to us as a wonder drug but obviously turned out not to be. "

Of the 122 haemophiliacs at Treloars in the 1970s and 80s,  90 have now died. Gary's lawyers say dozens of other students could now join his legal fight in a class action. 

Watch: Des Collins, Senior Partner, Collins Solicitors

"The issues will all be the same - or pretty much the same. How could the school have allowed the pupils to be used as guinea pigs.

"Parents would drop their kids off for the term and assume that they would be treated properly - what was happening was that they were increasingly being used as guinea pigs for testing and testing should not have taken place without the parents' consent."

A spokesperson for Treloar’s said “Due to the potential of a formal legal claim it would not be appropriate for us to comment at this time”