10th March 2004 - Board Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service held on Wednesday 10th March, 2004 at 2.00pm Boardroom, National Blood Centre, Jamess Street, Dublin 8
Present: Ms Maura McGrath (Chairperson)
Mr Sean Wyse
Ms Valerie Mannix
Mr Tony McNamara
Dr Cees Van Der Poel
Mr David Lowe
Mr David Keenan
Dr Liz Keane
Apologies: Dr Mary Horgan
Dr Helen Enright
Dr Gerry Crotty
In Attendance: Mr Andrew Kelly (A/CE)
Dr William Murphy (NMD)
Mr. Michael Healy (SEO)
1. Minutes of Meeting 11.02.2004
The minutes of the Board meeting held on Wednesday 11th February 2004 were adopted on the proposal of Mr. S. Wyse, seconded by Ms. V. Mannix and signed by the Chairperson subject to agreed amendments.
2. Matters arising
The draft recommendation as discussed at the meeting of National Blood Strategy Implementation Group (NBSIG) will be brought to the Board for discussion.
3. Chief Executives Report
The report was noted.
The Hospital Liaison Committee, chaired by Dr. Emer Lawlor, organised a workshop on 1st March 2004 on blood usage / stock management and implications of the EU Directive. The workshop was very well attended and feedback has been very positive.
The Business Review Group (BRG) held an offsite day on March 3rd in Portlaoise to discuss the results from the Management Climate Survey. The BRG focused on three areas;
i. the development of a performance management system for the IBTS;
ii. the design of a management development programme to include management competencies;
iii. the design of a climate survey for the IBTS to include process, content and logistics.
The scoping and resourcing of these projects will assist in the implementation of the strategic plan and ensure that the organisation has the capacity to deliver any action plans contained in that plan.
Under Sustaining Progress and Benchmarking, a work programme has been set out whereby specific changes are to be achieved within functions by an agreed timeline. The Chief Executive is required to confirm progress under each area of the programme before benchmarking & sustaining progress payments can be approved.
Interviews for the QA Manager and Laboratory Manager positions in the Cork Centre have taken place and it is expected that second interviews will be completed within the next three weeks.
Parallel NAT testing has commenced with the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) and it is expected that go live will occur in May 2004. It has been agreed that the SNBTS would be used as a backup for NAT testing until the end of 2005.
The A/CE briefed the Board on specific aspects of the Lindsay Report.
The National Blood Users Group has issued guidelines for the administration of blood and blood components. The Board acknowledged the work of Dr. Joan ORiordan in developing the guidelines.
The position of Internal Auditor in the IBTS is vacant at present and the IBTS will be actively seeking to recruit to this position as soon as possible.
4. vCJD proposed changes in policy
Dr. W. Murphy, NMD, briefed the Board on the vCJD update given to the MAC 10th March 2004 and the proposed recommendations to the Board. The following recommendations were agreed by the Board;
a. Defer donors who were transfusion recipients post 1980.
b. Defer donors on the basis of having spent three years or more in the UK between 1980 1996. It was also agreed that a Task Force would draw up a set of strategies on how soon the IBTS could move to a one year deferral for UK residency.
c. Defer neonatal panel donors on the basis of having spent one year or more in the UK between 1980 1996. Dr. Murphy noted that there would be serious logistical and supply implications in the short medium term in implementing this recommendation.
A risk assessment of vCJD risk exposure in the Irish population has been commissioned and a draft report has been received this week. It was agreed that the study would be presented by its author at the next meeting of the MAC and that members of the Board of the IBTS would attend. It was agreed that the authors would be asked to evaluate the reduction in the residual risk that would be achieved by introducing a one-year deferral.
It was also suggested that the authors might also assess the risk reduction associated with moving from pooled platelets to apheresis platelets.
5. Review International Panel Recommendations on Testing
The A/CE briefed the Board on a review of the Recommendations of the International Panel on Testing. After some discussion it was agreed that the A/CE would revert to the Board with an updated review highlighting the decisions of the Board and progress to date on the various recommendations.
It was noted that the EU would be drafting a quality system for blood banks, which will have to be adopted by member states. It is highly likely that these quality systems would be based on GMP. It was understood that this quality system will be imposed and will not be a matter of choice for individual States. The Board continues to view compliance with the IMB GMP as the appropriate quality standard.
As soon as the Board has deliberated on the review of all of the Recommendations of the International Panel, the Board will then advise and update the Minister for Health & Children of progress to date and outstanding issues to be resolved.
6. Donor Notification 1991 1994
It was noted that the legislation on Committees of Investigation is expected to be approved by the end of April 2004.
7. Revised Code of Conduct for Board Members
It was decided to defer this item to the April 2004 meeting.
8. Development of Cork Centre
It was noted that there appears to be no archaeological implications in development work at the cottages section of St. Finbarrs site.
Bruce Shaw have been retained as Quantity Surveyors and Jacobs Building Services Engineers as Engineers for the interim development. A contingency plan will be in place when the IBTS is moving into the interim building.
9. Organisation Development Programme
There was positive feedback from the meeting with the medical consultants to discuss a strategy going forward for the IBTS. It was felt important that all parties involved in negotiating a new strategy would have a sense of inclusivity in decision making. It was understood that the task of bringing the various strands together within the IBTS to form a cohesive national service would require commitment from all parties. It was agreed that the principles from the various documents would be co-ordinated and re-submitted in a single document by the facilitator and A/CE. The sub-committee of the Board dealing with the OD Programme will then bring the various proposals to Board. It was agreed that a concrete action plan would need to be in place to ensure effective rollout of the strategic plan.
10. Minutes of Finance Committee Meeting 04.02.2004
Mr. T. McNamara briefed the Board on the minutes of the Finance Committee 4th February 2004. Due to work commitments, Mr. McNamara requested that other Board members might serve on the Finance and Audit Committees in his place. Ms. M. McGrath, Chairperson, thanked Mr. McNamara for his dedicated service on these committees and wished him well in his work on the Health Services Executive. It was agreed that Mr. S. Wyse would serve on the Finance Committee and relinquish his position on the Audit Committee. It was also agreed that Ms. V. Mannix would replace Mr. McNamara on the Audit Committee.
11. Appointment of Chief Executive
The Board of the IBTS and the Department of Health & Children appointed Mr. A. Kelly as Chief Executive of the IBTS. Ms. McGrath, Chairperson, acknowledged the contribution that Mr. Kelly had made in the past 18 months as Acting Chief Executive of the IBTS and wished him well in his future role.
12. Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting of the IBTS Board will take place on Wednesday April 14th 2004.
Signed: . .. Date: .
