Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 1 Jun 1999

Vol. 505 No. 6

Written Answers. - Blood Transfusion Service Board.

Bernard Allen

Ceist:

158 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will meet a delegation of Cork Oireachtas Members and representatives of Cork hospital consultants to discuss the future of the Blood Transfusion Service Board in Cork. [14342/99]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

Responsibility for the organisation and management of the national blood transfusion service rests with the Blood Transfusion Service Board, BTSB. Following the report of the Finlay tribunal of inquiry, the BTSB is implementing a wide-ranging programme of modernisation in order to adapt to emerging developments in transfusion medicine.

The closure of the BTSB Cork centre is not on the agenda of the BTSB or my Department. All that is being considered is a possible change in one aspect of the Cork operation, vis-à-vis donation testing. There is no suggestion of any change in relation to the other scientific and technical services currently carried out at the Cork centre, such as blood grouping, components processing, compatibility testing and ante-natal screening.

In February 1998, the board of the BTSB decided that having regard to international practice PCR testing, which is the most sensitive way of detecting viruses, should be carried out at the new national headquarters which is under construction. The proposal which is now being assessed by the BTSB is whether all serological testing, not only PCR, should be performed at the national headquarters. A consultancy project commissioned with the approval of the previous Government recommended that the BTSB should develop a strategy to consolidate donor testing to a single location.

The board of the BTSB has asked the chief executive officer and the national medical director to prepare a report on the practical implications for patient services of developing a single site for donation testing in Ireland. Among the issues being addressed are: how best to provide a transfusion service in the light of the rapidly changing environment in transfusion medicine; the application of accepted international standards of practice in leading centres and blood services; the achievement of the goal of supplying 100 per cent of blood components on time and without fail; the likelihood of a substantial reduction in the use of blood components given the alternatives to blood transfusion which are currently available or being developed; the concerns of health boards and hospitals, including their concerns about the substantial increase in the costs of BTSB products; and the achievement of a service that is efficient and effective.

As part of this process, the chief executive officer and the national medical director of the BTSB are consulting with international transfusion experts. Consultation is also taking place with BTSB staff, relevant hospitals and blood users to brief them on the emerging developments, fully explain the BTSB's enhanced blood safety programme and address the needs and concerns of medical and scientific staff. A meeting has already taken place with members and staff of the Southern Health Board. The BTSB has advised the Southern Health Board that the BTSB is committed to working with all hospitals to ensure it meets their blood component needs in a speedy, efficient and cost-effective manner consistent with the essential requirement of blood safety. The newly appointed chairman of the BTSB has also offered an opportunity to the Southern Health Board to make a presentation. The BTSB has also invited scientific and medical input from hospital consultants in Cork to inform its considerations. Medical consultants who wish to make a written or oral submission to the BTSB should respond to this invitation. Should the Deputy or other Oireachtas Members wish to discuss operational matters involving the BTSB they might contact the chief executive officer who would welcome such discussion.

The board of the BTSB will consider the outcome of the current assessment at its meeting in July.