JUST one in 500 victims of the infected blood scandal have been invited to seek payouts as the compensation scheme is failing to keep up with the applications it receives, a lawyer has said.

Many in the small minority will also die while they wait to receive monies, said Des Collins, senior partner at Collins Solicitors, which has advised thousands of affected people.

The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is currently unable to cope “with anywhere near the volume [of] applications for compensation,” he added.

More than 30,000 people who received NHS treatment between the 1970s and early 1990s were given contaminated blood, causing some 3,000 deaths and lifelong health implications.

People were approached to make the first set of claims in October last year, with compensation offers totalling more than £13 million by January this year, according to the authority.

IBCA interim chief executive David Foley said: “Every single compensation claim is unique with complex circumstances.”