Haemophiliacs want report sent to DPP

HAEMOPHILIACS who received contaminated blood products want the Dáil to send the Lindsay Tribunal report to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Chairman of the Irish Haemophilia Society, Brian O’Mahony, said his members remain determined lessons will be learned by the State agencies responsible.

“Sending the report onto the Director of Public Prosecutions will at least show it is being treated with the seriousness it deserves,” he said last night.

More than 70 infected haemophiliacs and their relatives met privately in a Dublin hotel over the weekend to discuss the report they consider to be both vague and badly written. The Dáil is due to discuss the report within the next few weeks.

Mr O’Mahony said what while members were “profoundly disappointed” by the report they were not bitter.

They found it absolutely amazing that tribunal chairperson Judge Alison Lindsay felt it was unnecessary for the tribunal to make any further comment on the fact that the Department of Health and the Government proceeded on the basis of erroneous information on the source of HIV infection both in 1989 and 1991 when infected haemophiliacs were seeking compensation.

Mr O’Mahony said the report was sending out a damaging message he hoped the Dáil would not ignore when it discussed the report.

“That message is it’s okay to mislead the Dáil and it’s okay to put Government policy in place on the basis of misleading information supplied by your officials. That’s not good for democracy.”

Mr O’Mahony said while the report identified serious failures by the blood bank, Department of Health and doctors that led to the deaths of people with haemophilia, it had serious shortcomings.

There were areas the report simply failed to cover; there were findings that were not made and findings they disagreed with.

Members complained about the absence of a clear statement of conclusions and words such as “surprising, inexplicable, regrettable or unsatisfactory” to describe failings.

“Nowhere in the report did I see the words like negligent or culpable,” said Mr O’Mahony.

Infected haemophiliacs and their relatives also felt the conclusions were far too general.

The IHS already had more specific recommendations and would continue to push for their implementation.

The 64 people who gave personal testimony also felt their the report did not adequately reflect their input.

Their often distressing evidence was covered by Judge Lindsay in less than four pages.

They were particularly upset by the judge implying some haemophiliacs were in denial when given their HIV positive test results and did not remember getting them. Infected haemophiliacs were also disappointed that the tribunal did not interview Blood Transfusion Service Board members despite the fact it was asked to do so several times by IHS members.