16th February 2005 - Board Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service held on Wednesday 16th February, 2005 at 2.00 p.m. in the Boardroom, National Blood Centre, Jamess Street, Dublin 8
Present: Ms. Maura McGrath (Chairperson)
Mr. Sean Wyse
Ms. Valerie Mannix
Dr. Mary Cahill
Dr. Liz Keane
Mr. David Lowe
Ms. Jane OBrien
Apologies: Dr. Cees Van Der Poel
Mr. David Keenan
Mr. Tony McNamara
Dr. Mary Horgan
In Attendance: Mr. Andrew Kelly (CE)
Dr. William Murphy (NMD)
Mr. Michael Healy (SEO)
1. Minutes of Meeting 12.01.2005
The minutes of the Board meeting held on Wednesday, January 12th 2005 were adopted on the proposal of Mr. S. Wyse, seconded by Ms. J. OBrien and signed by the Chairperson.
2. Matters arising
The Business Review Group (BRG) has reviewed the employee climate survey and the ensuing action plan has been ratified. This will be published in the coming weeks.
It was agreed that the Chairperson would invite the Tánaiste to meet the Board at the earliest available date.
3. Correspondence
4. Risk Register
A Risk Register for the IBTS has been drafted. This was one of the recommendations of the most recent Comptroller & Auditor General report. Over 50 risks have been identified, categorised and prioritised by staff members. After some discussion and comment it was agreed that the Board should identify the critical risks it needs to deal with from a governance perspective and be updated on a regular basis on the management of these risks. It was agreed that the Audit Committee should identify these risks and make appropriate recommendations to the Board. A re-formatted version of the Risk Register will be circulated to Board members.
5. Strategic Plan
A number of suggestions were made regarding the structure, content and design of the Strategic Plan (SP). It was understood that the SP is a living document which will be regularly updated to reflect the changing environment in which the IBTS operates, and that action plans will derive from this document. The Board will be circulated with a revised copy of the SP Executive Summary together with a communication strategy to promulgate the SP.
6. NHO Annual Report 2003 Presentation
Dr. S. Laspina gave a presentation to the Board on the NHO Report for 2003. It was noted that the IBTS recommendations were not mandatory and relied on the users or hospitals putting such recommendations into effect.
The number of reported incidents has risen. Dr. Laspina felt that this was due to the voluntary and anonymised reporting and increased confidence in the haemovigilance system. Dr. Laspina felt that mandatory reporting would not be beneficial.
So as to ensure that IBTS recommendations were implemented, it was felt that a national haemovigilance steering committee should be set up. It was suggested that its members could be drawn from the National Blood Users Group (NBUG). The matter is to be progressed by the NHO.
It was noted that the National Blood Strategy Implementation Group (NBSIG) had previously recommended establishing a National Transfusion Committee. It was agreed that the IBTS should progress the establishment of the National Transfusion Committee with the DOH&C.
The Chairperson thanked Dr. Laspina for his clear and concise presentation and noted that the haemovigilance system in Ireland is greatly admired throughout Europe for its excellence.
7. Chief Executives Report
The report was noted.
A number of options in relation to the location and development of the Cork Centre were discussed. It was agreed that any new proposals from Board members could be forwarded to the Chief Executive.
The revised pension arrangements were being finalised following a meeting with the member trustees and consultation with the Actuary. The proposals will be sent to the trade unions/representative associations in the coming weeks.
8. Annual Trustees Report of the IBTS Superannuation Fund Year Ending 30.04.04
Ms. V. Mannix briefed the Board on the report that had been circulated to Board members. The Trustees are exploring the idea of having a Risk Register for the pension scheme.
The most recent report confirms that the pension fund is solvent. Pension increases are assumed to be discretionary. The CE thanked Ms. V. Mannix for her enormous contribution as a Trustee.
9. Minutes of MAC Meeting 10.11.04 and 08.12.04
The NMD briefed the Board on the minutes of the MAC meeting 10.11.04 and 08.12.04. It was noted that the overuse of O neg blood in hospitals is to be addressed. It is expected that a filter to remove prions will be CE marked in the very near future.
10. Date of next meeting
The next meeting of the Board will take place in the NBC on Wednesday March 9th 2005. The time is to be confirmed to facilitate discussion of Board governance
Signed:
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