Hundreds of Scots impacted by tainted blood were represented by a legal group that said the study on the issue exposed "decades of gross and culpable failures."

The "hard-hitting" report, according to Thompsons Solicitors, which defended 300 people as well as two charities in the Infected Blood Inquiry, outlined many Scotland-specific shortcomings that resulted in "so much suffering and death."

These included, according to the company, several "missed opportunities" to address the injustices caused by the scandal as well as shortcomings in Scottish blood transfusion services throughout the 1980s.

In the 1970s and 1980s, tainted blood products were supplied to thousands of patients, resulting in the spread of HIV and hepatitis C infections and almost 2,400 deaths.

The decades of egregious and responsible mistakes that resulted in a great deal of misery and death have been exposed by Sir Brian Langstaff.

Lynn Carey, Thompsons Solicitors

Approximately 3,000 individuals in Scotland are thought to have received tainted blood, either from NHS transfusions or hemophilia treatment, with hundreds of them going on to pass away as a result.

Lynn Carey, associate at Thompsons, said: “We welcome the publication of the report on behalf of every Scottish victim of the contaminated blood scandal. The report is hard-hitting and in many ways difficult to read.

“Sir Brian Langstaff has laid bare the decades of gross and culpable failures that caused so much pain, suffering and death.”

The audit uncovered what Ms. Carey termed "serious failings" in Scotland, including as inadequate personnel and subpar facilities at regional transfusion centers, a reluctance to implement testing, and what she called "culpable" shortcomings at the Protein Fractionation Centre (PFC).

Although it was never utilized for this purpose, the PFC in Edinburgh was established in the 1970s with the intention of producing blood products for use in Scotland and the north of England.

According to the study, this resulted in a shortage of Factor VIII plasma from UK donors, which made it necessary to import plasma from outside.

The Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow made judgments that resulted in the use of plasma products from paid donors in the United States for haemophiliac children, even though these donors were known to carry a significant risk. These practices were also criticized in the study.

At the hospital, 21 youngsters get HIV infections in total.

The report attributed this to decisions taken by the-then centre director Dr Michael Willoughby, saying: “It makes little sense for Dr Willoughby to have committed Yorkhill to the purchase of commercial concentrates when throughout the period of interest Scotland was effectively self-sufficient in NHS factor concentrates.”

The report also set out that since the scandal there had been “a series of missed opportunities to remedy (in small measure at least) the injustices that had been, and continued to be, experienced.”

It listed several opportunities that were lost, such as a Scottish Executive investigation, Health and Care Committee recommendations, and expert group recommendations appointed by the Scottish Executive. It claims that because none of these actions were done, the harm was "compounded."

Ms. Carey highlighted that, in the perspective of the scandal's victims, the Penrose Inquiry represented a particularly notable lost opportunity.

The Scottish Government established the Penrose Inquiry concerning infection from NHS treatment in Scotland using blood and blood products in 2008, and it published its final report in 2015.

Ms Carey said: “The victims that we represent all talk of the many missed opportunities over the years for the truth to be found and justice served. We also talk about how the harms of the scandal were compounded by secrecy, cover-up and those missed opportunities.

“The Scottish victims hold the Penrose Report as a missed opportunity that compounded their harms. We have spoken of righting the wrongs of Penrose. Today that wrong has been righted and victims and their families are vindicated.”

Scottish Government public health minister Jenni Minto said: “Today is about those who have been infected, their families and support organisations, and I want to pay tribute to them. They have been focused on ensuring the impact of this terrible tragedy, their suffering, has not been ignored.

“On behalf of the Scottish Government, I reiterate our sincere apology to those who have been infected or affected by NHS blood or blood products.

“The Scottish Government has already accepted the moral case for compensation for infected blood victims and is committed to working with the UK Government to ensure any compensation scheme works as well as possible for victims.

“We are determined to use the inquiry’s report to ensure lessons have been learned so a tragedy like this can never happen again.

“However, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service has extremely high standards of blood safety and I would continue to encourage anyone who can do so to give blood, as this remains essential for thousands of patients.”