July 2009 Board Minutes

Minutes of the Meeting of theBoardof the Irish Blood Transfusion Service held onTuesday 21st July 2009at2.00pmin theBarryRoom,CorkCentre, St Finbarr’s Hospital,Douglas Road,Cork.

 Present:   

Ms.Maura McGrath(Chairperson)
Mr.Sean Wyse
Mr. David Lowe (via audio link)
Ms.Margaret Mullett
Ms. Jane O’Brien
Dr Cees Van Der Poel
Dr Margaret Murray
Ms Marie Keane
Mr Gerry O’Dwyer

 Apologies:                             

Dr Mary Cahill
Mr David Keenan
Mr Mark Moran

 Also in attendance:              

Mr. Andrew Kelly, Chief Executive
Dr. William Murphy, Medical &Scientific Director
Ms Mirenda O’Donovan, Secretary to theBoard

 1.     Minutes of the meeting of the Board on16^th June 2009

 The minutes of the meeting of the Board on 16^th June 2009 were agreed and proposed by Mr Sean Wyse and seconded by Ms Jane O’Brien.

2.     Matters arising

 SJH

A meeting with the Chief Executive of SJH has been arranged for later this month.

Benchmarking

A benchmarking exercise of a number of European blood services is being carried out by Plexus on behalf of the Dutch Government and the IBTS is part of this exercise.  Results will be available in September.  An additional benchmarking exercise is been undertaken by the EBA.

Insurance and vCJD testing

A meeting will be held with the Irish Insurers Federation on 30^th July to discuss this issue directly with the industry.  Ethics approval for an anonymised unlinked study has been secured from the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland.

Prion Filtration

Legal advice has been sought on the response from the Secretary General of the DOH&C.  CE will be raising the issue again with the DOH&C.  The matter will be brought back to the Board if there are any developments. 

3.     Chief Executive’s Report

 Blood Supply

The blood supply for June has been very good.  Donations increased by 4% over the same period last year.

Quality

The IMB tissue inspection is due to take place from 26-29^th August. 

Saleof plasma

The two issues of concern raised by the Board were ethical and donor consent.  The ethical issue has been clarified and a comprehensive survey of donors on this issue has been carried out.  It was agreed that the donor information leaflet be amended. It was also agreed that the number of deferrals should be monitored to assess trends. The Board agreed in principle to sell donor plasma for commercial purposes to be limited and specified in the contract, subject to the Board approving the final contract. It was agreed that the DOH&C be notified of the Board’s decision. 

CorkCentre

The CE and the Medical and Scientific Director is meeting Professor John Higgins immediately after the board meeting (21^st July) to discuss the reconfiguration of acute services in HSE South and the impact that will have on the services provided by IBTS including where the new Cork Centre would fit in that reconfiguration.  The CE is to meet the Assistant Secretary in the DOH&C to discuss the timing of funding for the new centre.  It was agreed that the Chairperson, the CE and a Board member would arrange a meeting with the HSE Head of Estates.

Embargo

The Board sub-group reported on their discussions with the Chief Executive on dealing with certain service critical posts in light of the impact of the flu pandemic. The Board supported the decisions taken. The Chair thanked the subgroup for their work on this matter and noted that these arrangements were being put in place in the context of the flu pandemic and maintaining the blood supply. 

Management Structures

The CE briefed the Board on issues regarding reporting arrangements under the new management structures.  It was agreed that the CE would discuss the suggested solutions with the M&SD before proceeding further.  However, the Board reiterated that the structures as approved were to be implemented.

4.     Approval of Financial Statements & Presentation on financial update January - June 2009

The Director of Finance gave a presentation on the Financial Statements for 2008 and a financial update for the first 6 months of 2009.  It was noted that the C&AGs office had not yet closed out the file on the audit.  It was also noted that the accounts were showing a deficit because of the Pension Scheme charge under FRS 17. It was agreed that the Board would not approve the financial statements at this time and would wait for the formal response from the Comptroller and Auditor General.

It was agreed that the Director of Finance would email the Board when this response was received.  If necessary the Board would reconvene via teleconference to formally approve the Financial Statements.  The Chairperson thanked the Director of Finance and his team for their work preparing the accounts.  It was agreed that the Chairman of the Finance Committee would seek advice regarding approval of the Financial Statements as presented and would revert with his advice.  It was agreed that the Director of Finance would assist where necessary.

5.     Pension Scheme

 Three options were presented to the Board.   The Chief Executive outlined the pros and cons of each option. Following much discussion it was agreed that the Chairperson would write to the Ministers for Finance and DOH&C outlining the situation with the Fund and identifying the preferred solution. 

6.     Review of Board Priorities and Performance

 It was agreed that Board members would review the 8 commitments agreed as part of the strategic planning day held in May 2008 and revert to the Chairperson via email with any comments or views.  It was agreed that this issue would be discussed at the September meeting. It was agreed that the Internal Audit Report on Corporate Governance be circulated to the Board together with the revised Code of Practice.

7.     Flu Pandemic

The Chief Executive made a presentation on flu pandemic preparedness in the IBTS, outlining the measures being put in place to secure the blood supply over the coming months.  The Chairperson thanked the Chief Executive for this detailed and informative presentation.  The Chairperson noted with concern the absence of the IBTS on the HSE/DOH&C agenda.  It was also noted that this is changing. 

8.     Minutes of the MAC meeting of19^th May 2009

The vacancy on the Committee from Dr Flanagan’s departure has not yet been filled.  The Haemochromatosis programme has commenced at the Mater Hospital.  It was agreed to follow trends on BP & Pulse withdrawal.  The UK blood service is going to undertake additional qualitative research on donor attitudes to vCJD testing.  The MAC Annual Report will be ready to go to the Board in September. 

9.     Minutes of the Audit Committee meeting of31^st March 2009

A number of completed IT Audits were considered by the Committee.  The Committee also reviewed an audit on performance management.  It was noted that personal and team development plans were being put in place and that performance management for teams which will also involve individual performance management is being rolled out as part of the training and development programme. 

10. Correspondence

The Chairperson had received a copy of the Revised Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies.  It was noted that the Annual Report could proceed to publication once clarification on the accounts was received. This could result in the Annual Report showing a note explaining that the accounts were not finalised by the C&AG. 

The Chairperson noted that this was the last Board meeting for Ms Margaret Mullett and thanked her for her contribution and dedication during her term on the Board. 

It was agreed that Dr Cees Van Der Poel would update Dr Cahill and that Ms Jane O’Brien would update Mr Mark Moran and Mr Dave Keenan. 

The next meeting of the Board will take place in the National Blood Centre on Tuesday 15^th September at2.00pm