13th February 2002 - Board Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service held on Wednesday 13th February 2002
Boardroom, National Blood Centre, Jamess Street, Dublin 8.
Present:
Mr. Michael McLoone (Chairman)
Ms. Valerie Mannix
Mr. Tony McNamara
Dr. Ann OConnor
Dr. Liz Keane
Dr Gerry Crotty
Dr. Helen Enright
Ms. Maura McGrath
Apologies:
Mr. Pat Farrell
Dr. Mary Horgan
Dr. Karen Murphy
In Attendance:
Mr. Martin Hynes (CEO)
Dr. William Murphy (NMD)
Mr. Michael Healy (SEO)
1. Minutes of Meeting 16th January 2002
The Minutes of the Board Meeting held on Wednesday 16th January 2002, were proposed by Dr. L. Keane, seconded by Ms. M. McGrath and signed by the Chairman, subject to agreed amendments.
2. Matters Arising
The Board recorded its appreciation and thanks for Mr. Gerry Coffey, whose term of appointment ended on 31st December 2001. It was agreed that Mr. Pat Farrell would replace Mr. Coffey on the Sub-Committee of the Board.
Testing Munster Centre
It was noted that a meeting had taken place between the SHB Chairman, CUH Deputy General Manager, the IBTS Chairman, National Medical Director and Deputy CEO. An agreed press statement was released on January 17th 2002. It was noted that the SHB nomination to the Expert Group is Professor Cash and the IBTS nomination is Dr. T. Söderström.
Dr. Söderströms request for the support of a research assistant from his centre was agreed by the Board. The NMD confirmed that the arrangements are satisfactory from the Boards point of view. It is expected that the Expert Group will complete its task approximately two months from the date of their first meeting. The IBTS has written to both persons to confirm the arrangements. The cost of the Expert Group is to be shared between the IBTS and the SHB.
The Expert Group report will be presented to the IBTS Chairman and the SHB Chairman, who will meet together to ensure that there is unanimity with regard to issues arising from the report. It was agreed that any financial implications ensuing from the draft report of the Expert Group should be investigated with the DOH&C.
Finances
The CEO informed the meeting that Departmental approval of the IBTS overdraft is for the first quarter of 2002.
Cork Development Project
The Cork Development Project Team have had a number of meetings and a number of evaluations have taken place. It is expected that a recommendation on the personnel to carry out the site option appraisal will issue in the near future.
Minutes of MAC Meeting 14th November 2001
The CEO agreed to revert to the Board at the next meeting on the issue of remuneration for the International Expert on the MAC.
3. CEOs Report
This was noted. The CEO briefed the members on a number of legal actions that are pending.
The issue of a legal action of members of IBTS staff with regard to a member of the SHB was discussed. The IBTS staff are pursuing this matter in their personal capacities.
Organisational Development Programme
The Steering Committee will be meeting with HRS Consulting, who will be presenting a interim report on February 14th 2002. It is expected that this report will facilitate the Board in setting the Agenda and the relative priority of the key strategic issues that require Board attention and decisions. It will also assist the Chief Executive and Senior Managers to refocus their work programmes on the organisational, operational, and HR problems and issues set out in the HRS feedback from meetings with staff. The Chairman will brief the Board at the next meeting on March 13th. It was agreed that issues should be resolved on an ongoing basis where possible.
Code of Practice for Governance of State Bodies
The Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies was presented and adopted by the Board. It was agreed that as part of the ongoing organisation and development programme, that this Code would be reviewed. The Chairman will respond to the letter received from the Minister to confirm that the Code has been adopted and will be complied with. It was agreed that further clarification on the Code would be required.
4. NMD Report
The Board noted the report of the NMD on directed donations and endorsed the current policy.
Review of vCJD Policy
The NMD briefed the Board on the current practice and approach of medical authorities with regard to vCJD. He also outlined the current available information with regard to the transmissibility of vCJD. The NMD recommended that the IBTS continue with its current five-year deferral policy until such time as the one year deferral policy can be implemented. The Board approved this recommendation. It was agreed that the IBTS would explore the possibility of sourcing cryoprecipitate and plasma for neonates from BSE free countries.
5. Minutes of Finance Committee December 5th 2001
The Board approved the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting of 5th December 2001. The Committee Chairman, Mr. T McNamara, drew the Boards attention to the ongoing costs of the Progesa project, which remains a matter of concern. The improved cash flow position, since the end of December, was welcomed.
6. Minutes of MAC December 14th 2001
It was noted that the Senior Management Team will discuss the protocol for staff attendance at conferences.
The CEO noted that the full availability of recombinant products is likely to occur in April. However, this has yet to be confirmed.
The Board decided to defer formal acceptance of the minutes.
7. Donation Procurement Strategy
Mr. A. Kelly gave a presentation to the Board on the donation procurement strategy. A discussion took place on the strategies being pursued and the options being explored by the Donor Services Department. It was suggested that health boards and hospitals might be contacted with a view to helping with the blood supply and widening the donor base.
It was also suggested that information with regard to the blood supply might be made more widely available to the general public. It was felt that this might help the national awareness of the importance of maintaining an adequate blood supply.
The Chairman and Board members thanked Mr. Kelly for the briefing and for the well-prepared documentation, which was comprehensively researched.
8. Communication Strategy
Ms D Healy, Communications Manager, outlined the IBTS communications strategy. The presentation dealt with the issues which had arisen in recent times and the challenges which require to be addressed into the future. The Chairman thanked Ms Healy for her comprehensive presentation.
It was suggested that both the donation procurement strategy and the communications strategy reports might be circulated. It was agreed that both strategies would be summarised in bullet point form and that the conclusions and recommendations would be reviewed by the management team and brought by the CEO to the next meeting for discussion. The Chairman noted that a high priority will be attached to these conclusions as part of Board policy and strategy.
The Board was very appreciative of the presentations given by Mr. A. Kelly and Ms. D. Healy and thanked them for their contributions.
9. Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting of the IBTS Board will be on Wednesday March 13th at 2.00 p.m.
