October 2009 Board minutes

Minutes of the Meeting of theBoardof the Irish Blood Transfusion Service held onTuesday 20th October 2009at2.00pmin theBoardroom, National Blood Centre, James’s Street,Dublin8.

Present:                                 Mr. Sean Wyse (Acting Chairperson)

Mr. David Lowe 
Ms. Marie Keane
Ms. Jane O’Brien
Mr David Keenan
Dr Paul Browne
Dr Mary Cahill
Mr Mark Moran
Ms Sinead Ni Mhaille
Dr Cees van der Poel

Also in attendance:               Mr. Andrew Kelly, Chief Executive

Dr. William Murphy, Medical &Scientific Director

Ms Mirenda O’Donovan Secretary to the Board

It was agreed by the Board that the meeting would be chaired by Mr Sean Wyse.  This was proposed by Mr Mark Moran and seconded by Ms Jane O’Brien. The agenda was amended to deal with two additional items.

1.     Minutes of the meeting of the Board on15^th September 2009

The minutes of the meeting of the Board on 15^th September 2009 were agreed and proposed by Ms Marie Keane and seconded by Ms Jane O’Brien.

2.     Matters arising

SJH

Agreement has been reached on outstanding monies due and payment will be made to IBTS by the end of October.

Benchmarking

The final report of the benchmarking exercise undertaken by the EBA must first be presented to the Dutch Government which commissioned it.  The CE will continue to seek a copy as soon as it is available.

Insurance Federation

The federation is still consulting its members and has not yet reverted with a response.

Pension Trustees

In reference to the CE’s report at the September meeting, the CE reiterated that Gerry O’Dwyer remains on as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.                                                                                  

3.     CE’s Report

Blood supply

The blood supply remains strong at the moment.  A pre and post October bank holiday weekend campaign is being launched to increase supplies, particularly in groups O and A for November, which should secure a good supply into December.

Quality

The issue of the NHO effectively acting as the competent authority for the reporting of serious adverse events and reactions, while part of the IBTS, remains unresolved.  The CE has raised this matter again with the DOH&C.  The MAC has also discussed this issue and is proposing to bring a paper to the next Board meeting with some possible solutions. 

HR Issues

SIPTU and the INO have now lodged a claim for the pay increase which was due in September under T16. 

CorkCentre

CE is to meet the HSE Head of Estates to discuss the possibility of securing the site across the road from CUH for the new Cork Centre, in the event that a survey proves it is suitable. 

Resources

The CE corrected an error in his written report. It was agreed that the Acting Chairperson of the Board and the Chairman of the Finance Committee would review the situation with the Chief Executive and report to the Board at the next meeting.

Legal Case

The CE briefed the Board on a legal case.

Therapeutic Apheresis

Letters have been written to the hospitals and consultants concerned outlining the IBTS decision to cease provision of this service from 1^st September 2010 due to the inability of the IBTS to recruit sufficient staff to deliver an appropriate level of service.

Finance

Savings from suppliers in the region of €500,000 have been secured to date.  There was a discussion on how these savings could be best used to achieve improvements in the value offered to our customers and it was decided to refer the matter to the Finance Committee. Proposals will be brought back to the Board as part of the budget presentation.

Recipient Tracing Unit

The CE proposed that Dr Lawlor would present at the next Board meeting on the conclusions of a report she is preparing for the DOH&C’s Expert Advisory Group on Hepatitis C.   It was noted that the Expert Group are due to hold a meeting in the coming months to review the operation of the scheme.  The CE is proposing that it would close out in March 2010.  The Board agreed that any winding down of the RTU in the IBTS should be taken in tandem with the Expert Group.  It was also agreed that the existing resources will remain with the RTU until a decision is made on its future position.   

      Donor Awards Ceremonies

A new format was introduced for the ceremony in June and feedback from the donors was very positive. The format will be kept under review.

4.     Presentation on HR Strategy

The HR Director made a presentation to the Board on HR Strategy.  The Board complimented management on the progress made in the past twelve months. The strategy for dealing with the change agenda proposed by the HR Director was fully supported by the Board.

5.     Saleof Plasma

The Board approved the Chief Executives proposals to sell the plasma which is currently discarded, subject to the inclusion of a clause in the contract to allow the IBTS opt out in specific circumstances. It was noted that this was not in conflict with the Nice Charter.

6.     Financial Accounts

The Board agreed to sign off on the Financial Statements as at 31st December 2008 and the annual audit by the C&AG. 

The Statement of Board Members responsibilities were signed by the Acting Chairperson and a Board member. The Chairperson and Chief Executive signed the Letter of Representation. The Statement of Internal Financial Controls was signed by the Chairperson.

7.     Strategic Plan 2010-2012 – Board effectiveness & delivery – review of strategic objectives set in May 2008

The Board agreed to defer this item pending the appointment of a new Chairperson.

8.     Minutes of the MAC Meeting21^st July 2009

The Board approved the following proposals:

1 The delegation of authority to the Chairperson of the MAC to co-opt members for specific topics

2 The alteration of the quorum arrangements to allow a full MAC meeting to proceed with one Board member in attendance

It was agreed these amendments would be made to the terms of reference of the MAC. In addition the Board requested the Chairman of the MAC to submit a list of names for approval as alternative appointments for critical specialities.

Insurance cover for donors in the event of a vCJD test being introduced was discussed, and it was noted that there was still no response from the Insurance Federation.  The incidence and ongoing impact of swine flu was noted.

9.     Minutes of the Finance Committee– 21^st July 2009

Correspondence in relation to the pension scheme was noted.  It was proposed that the IBTS should be represented at the meetings between officials of the Department of Finance and the Department of Health and Children and that the Acting Chairperson of the Board write to the Minister for Health and Children to propose this.     

10. Revised code of practice for the Governance of State Bodies

The CE briefed the Board on the implications of the Revised Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies issued by the Department of Finance. It was noted that the assignment of overall responsibility for risk to a Chief Risk Officer for each state agency, would be a complex matter for the IBTS as risk in relation to product, as opposed to financial matters, was managed in the first instance through the medical consultants, underpinned by the quality system.  The CE agreed to revert to the November Board meeting with a proposal in relation to this issue.

It was noted that the IBTS has in place Codes of Conduct for the Board, Employees and Contractors, Consultants and Advisors, based on the 2001 Code.  It was agreed that these Codes of conduct be revised in line with the new Code of Practice and be brought back to the Board in November for approval. It was agreed that the Board would in future review performance against the Business Plan based on the Strategy in February of each year.

It was agreed that proposals in relation to Board member performance in the revised code would be deferred until a new Chairperson has been appointed.

11. Audit and Compliance Committee

The Chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee briefed the Board on the findings and recommendations of the recent audit. An implementation plan has been agreed with the Chief Executive and this is being progressed.

12. Abbott Contract

The Board delegated the approval of this contract to the Acting Chairman and the Chairman of the Finance Committee. 

13. Date of next meeting

The next meeting of the Board will take place in the National Blood Centre on Tuesday 17^th November at 2pm.