Martin pledges new blood inquiry

A NEW investigation into the anti-D blood product scandal has been promised by Health Minister Micheál Martin.

The inquiry will be in addition to the internal investigation by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service which examined whether there were more than two sources of the hepatitis C virus that infected more than 1,000 women.

Anti-D is given to rhesus negative mothers who have given birth to rhesus positive babies. The blood bank has only accepted responsibility for infections from 1977 to 1979 and 1991 to 1994.

Support groups Positive Action and Transfusion Positive reckon that up to 100 women, in addition to the 1,200 already identified, were infected with hepatitis C outside the two time-frames identified by the IBTS.

Positive Action has claimed there were infections in every year between 1972 and 1994.

Mr Martin isexamining the report by IBTS deputy medical director Dr Emer Lawlor and is well aware that it will not be enough to satisfy support groups.

He has promised to make copies of the report, that runs to hundreds of pages and took three years to complete, to both Positive Action and Transfusion Positive.

It is expected the independent inquiry promised by the minister will be based on a new statutory format by Justice Minister Michael McDowell, who has said the current tribunal structure is too costly and adversarial.

Positive Action chairwoman Detta Warnock said they were never happy with the blood bank investigating itself.

She said they would certainly look at the report but would still insist on an independent inquiry into theissues raised in it.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of the country’s largest health authority has dismissed criticisms in a confidential report on the health service as being extreme.

The Medical Manpower Task Force report commissioned by Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy has claimed there is no accountability among senior health administrators.

But Eastern Regional Health Authority chief executive Michael Lyons defended the health service on RTÉ radio yesterday.

Mr Lyons said that although reform may be needed in some areas, the health service has one of the most highly regulated systems to control spending.

Asked if the cutbacks would continue to close wards in Dublin hospitals, Mr Lyons said: “Patient care will not be compromised and will continue to be our priority.”