Blood Bank challenges Dublin-Cork test plan
Blood Bank challenges Dublin-Cork test plan
[Posted: Sun 15/12/2002 - www.irishhealth.com]
by Fergal Bowers
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) looks set to defy the key recommendation from a team of international blood experts just weeks ago, that screening blood donations for viruses should remain in place in both Dublin and Cork on safety grounds.
The Blood Bank had wanted to centralise all testing at its Dublin headquarters near St James's Hospital, a move that resulted in a major political and medical row involving doctors, members of the Southern Health Board and the Health Minister. The international review team was set up to resolve the battle and in September its report backed having two test centres.
However, while it welcomed the report at the time, irishhealth.com has now learned that the Blood Bank has since written to the expert who chaired the international review team to 'seek clarification in writing on the apparent contradictions in the Expert Report'. The Blood Bank has demanded that more information be provided on the medical and scientific rationale for the recommendation that testing continue at both sites - Dublin and Cork.
The move is set to re-ignite the row between Dublin and Cork.
Documents seen by irishhealth.com also show that the Blood Bank is also concerned about securing Department of Finance funding for the maintenance and development of high-tech testing facilities at both centres. The Blood Bank says that the clarification is needed from the Expert Group as the information will be 'required for the Department of Finance to help in obtaining necessary funding'. Last week, it was revealed that the Department of Finance had put pressure on the Department of Health to switch to cheaper and less reliable blood products for haemophiliacs.
Despite the recommendation that testing operate in Dublin and Cork, the Blood Bank has now decided to undertake a study comparing the cost of single site testing to dual site testing for the Department of Finance. In a further twist to the Dublin-Cork testing battle, it has emerged that the Department of Health (which has always backed single-site testing for blood at the Dublin HQ) has also challenged whether the expert report findings are justified and cost-effective.
The Report by the panel of medical experts from Sweden, Scotland and Cincinnati highlighted serious management and organisation weaknesses in the Irish blood service. It found that the computer systems within the IBTS were not compatible with each other, preventing the tracking of positive test results to block labelling and hence prevent the release of an infected batch.
The report said that while the Cork Blood Centre had internationally recognised ISO 9000 certification, the new state-of-the-art Dublin national headquarters, an 'architectural masterpiece' beside St James's Hospital had not - a finding it described as 'striking'. This has added fuel to the public controversy over safety and testing.
The Blood Bank is to await the reply to its queries on the report and the implications of implementing the recommendations over the coming months, 'with a view to making a formal recommendation to the Minister early in the New Year'.