13th November 2002 - Board Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service held on 13th November, 2002
Present: Mr Michael McLoone (Chairman)
Mr Tony McNamara
Dr Mary Horgan
Dr Ann OConnor
Dr Liz Keane
Dr Gerry Crotty
Dr Helen Enright
Mr Pat Farrell
Dr Karen Murphy
Apologies: Ms Maura McGrath
In Attendance:
Mr Andrew Kelly (A/CEO)
Dr William Murphy (NMD)
Mr Michael Healy (SEO)
Minutes of Meeting 09.10.2002
The Minutes of the Board meeting held on Wednesday 9th October 2002, were adopted on the proposal by Dr Mary Horgan, seconded by Dr Ann OConnor and signed by the Chairman.
Matters Arising
Filling of CEO Post
Three firms have been approached to submit proposals on the process of the selection of a new CEO. Two of these three firms have submitted proposals. Board members were circulated with background documentation regarding the appointment of the CEO. The Board members were invited to comment on the documentation to assist the sub group in their deliberations. It was agreed that the Chairman, Mr T. McNamara and Ms M. McGrath would, evaluate the two tenders and proposed advertising, draw up the terms & conditions, person and job specification, and revert to the Board for final approval.
Performance Related Awards
It was noted that the remuneration of the IBTS CEO did not come within the parameters of the Buckley Report. Clarification has been sought from the DOH&C.
Letter from UCC President
Mr A. Kelly informed the Board that he had been in communication with UCC and was seeking a meeting with the UCC President to explore areas of mutual interest and future collaboration.
Considerations of the recommendations contained in the report of the Expert Group set up to review the decision to centralise donation testing in the NBC.
Mr Kelly informed the Board that he had received a response from Professor Zuck on behalf of the Expert Group in relation to points raised by Mr. P. Barron, Assistant Secretary, DOH&C in a letter to the Chief Executive.
The Board confirmed that its policy with regard to NAT testing was unchanged. The Department of Health and Children had also raised questions with regard to dual site NAT testing. It was agreed that financial and other implications of dual site NAT testing would need to be assessed.
It was noted that a contract had already been entered into with Chiron Corporation to supply NAT testing at the NBC. The Department of Health and Children have not, as yet, approved the continuing development of the PCR Lab in the NBC.
It was agreed that the various recommendations of the Expert Group should be examined and the various implications of each recommendation, outlined for the Boards perusal. Mr Kelly agreed to bring this assessment to Board in January 2003.
Mr Kelly agreed to write to Mr P. Barron of the Department of Health and Children, enclosing a copy of the letter of response from Professor Zuck and the Expert Group, and informing the Department, that the IBTS Board was not proposing to review its policy with regard to implementing NAT testing.
4. Budget 2003 Presentation
Ms S. Bailey, Director of Finance, briefed the Board on the 2003 budget.
Recommendations:
Maintain all sale prices for 2003 at 2002 levels.
The Board approved the financial strategy presented by the Director of Finance.
The Chairman thanked Ms S. Bailey for her presentation and the Finance Team for their work in managing the finances of the IBTS in an efficient and effective manner.
4. CEOs Report
The report was noted.
In regard to the Organisational Development and Change Programme, the Chairman informed the Board that the bilateral meetings between the NMD and RD were continuing. Although there had been some slippage on the original timeframe, it was agreed that the bilateral meetings should continue as the preferred option for dealing with outstanding issues. The Chairman agreed to bring a report to the December Board Meeting.
As part of the Organisational Development process, various focus groups within the IBTS were formed to give input to the process and HRS Consulting were facilitating these groups. The Chairman proposed that a specialist facilitator in the medical field, would facilitate the Medical Consultants Focus Group. The Chairman proposed that he would approach the NMD and consultants on how best to proceed. This was agreed.
It was envisaged that the input from the Medical Consultants Focus Group would include contributions to setting out the aims and objectives of the medical department function, the work which should be done in performing this function, the current organisation of the department and proposal for improving the organisation and management of the function together with its co-ordination with other inter-dependent functions within the IBTS.
NMD Report
The NMD briefed the Board on the report IBTS response to the threat posed by vCJD. The IBTS continues to monitor the possible risk posed by vCJD. The NMD noted that a further workshop on the threat of vCJD is planned for March 28th 2003, to review with international experts, policies and plans to ensure that all possible actions are being taken to minimise the possible risk of transmission of vCJD. The NMD informed the Board that a repository of samples is being kept with the SNBTS that can be used to define the extent to which the donor population in Ireland has been exposed to the Prion responsible for the development of vCJD, when a vCJD test becomes available. It was noted that the DOH&C had agreed to provide the funding for dealing with the vCJD issue, on a separate basis to the normal budget requirements.
The NMD noted that the predicted numbers which may be affected by vCJD were substantially less than had been previously predicted.
It is intended to go to 1-year deferral policy for general donor population, but only when a reasonable degree of security is obtained that the blood supply can withstand the further loss of 12,000 donations.
Organisational Development and Change
Mr Kelly noted that the IBTS continues to move forward with the Re-Organisation Plan and that the HR Director post has been advertised. Mr Kelly stated that the HR Review would be circulated to staff next week and that he would visit each centre to receive feedback on the review. Internal Communication Workshops have been held and a number of positive suggestions and comments have been received. The strategy should be finalised in early December and implementation to commence in the New Year. Mr Kelly felt that the management structure of the organisation needed to be addressed so as to be more effective and inclusive.
Approval of Final Account NBC Contractors Claim
The Design Team has examined the claim in detail and is now recommending that a sum of 507,895.23 plus VAT at 12.5% be offered to the main contractor in settlement of the account within the scope of the contracts. The recommendation was proposed by Mr Pat Farrell, seconded by Mr T. McNamara and unanimously agreed by the Board.
Lindsay Report Presentation
Dr Emer Lawlor gave a report to the Board on the background to the Lindsay Report and the various recommendations issued by Justice Lindsay. The Chairman thanked Dr Lawlor for her presentation. He noted that the Board was keen to address all of the recommendations of the Lindsay Report expeditiously and had set in train a process to deal with all outstanding issues in regard to the recommendations. The Chairman proposed that Dr Lawlors paper be circulated to all Board Members. The Board expressed its concern about the delay in finalising the appointment of the two additional consultant posts for Dublin. It was understood that the delay is due to the lack of availability of funds for the hospital concerned.
MAC Meeting September 18, 2002
Dr Horgan briefed the Board on the MAC meeting of September 18, 2002. The role of the MAC was discussed.
Date of next meeting
It was agreed that the meeting of the Board of the IBTS on December 11th, would begin at the earlier time of 1pm. The Board will have Christmas drinks with the IBTS staff after the meeting and will have dinner with the Senior Management Team.
Signed:________________________ Date:______________________
The Next Monthly Board Meeting to be held at 1.00pm on Wednesday 11th December 2002 at the National Blood Centre.
