TD fears hep C files ended up in landfill

FEARS dumped hospital files may contain details of hepatitis C cases were raised last night as the Dáil held an emergency debate on the medical records scandal exposed by the Irish Examiner.

Labour TD Kathleen Lynch expressed concern the records include files on women who were infected with hepatitis C via the anti-D vaccine in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Cork North Central TD said some victims seeking compensation for the infection had been told the records were missing and so could not prove the link to the vaccine. The dumping of sensitive medical records presented a significant breach of privacy.

“Patients may not have told their families about conditions for which they are receiving treatment. Even if they had, they most definitely did not want the wider public to know about them. We have all been in this position.” she said.

“I want to know if it is the case that files were unearthed, who was responsible, how did this happened and can it happen again? Has the HSE laid claim to these files and taken repossession of them? Also, will the HSE contact the people involved, let them know what happened and reassure them this will not happen again?” she asked.

Fine Gael Health spokesman Dr James Reilly also expressed concern. “The discovery of these confidential, medical files is disturbing.

“While the system may have changed since these documents were disposed of, there is no way that they should have been sent to landfill intact.”

Junior Health Minister of Michael Kitt said the HSE had taken action as soon as it was alerted to the situation. He added that a code of practice introduced last year should “alleviate public concerns”.

“The code lists the minimum retention periods for healthcare records in the NHO and provides a clear policy in order that hospitals can operate a healthcare records retention and disposal practice in a consistent manner across the Health Service Executive.

“The HSE is committed to ensuring that this code of practice is adopted and adhered to nationally and has developed a staff training programme which is being rolled out during 2008. I hope this will information will alleviate the concern being experienced by members of the public,” he said.