23rd March 2010 - Board Minutes

Minutes of the Meeting of theBoardof the Irish Blood Transfusion Service held onTuesday 23^rd March 2010at2.00pmin theBoardroom, National Blood Centre, James’s Street,Dublin8.

Present:                                 Ms. Katharine Bulbulia (Chairperson)

                                                Mr. David Lowe 

Ms. Marie Keane

Ms. Jane O’Brien

MrMark Moran

MrSean Wyse

DrPaulBrowne

Mr David Keenan

Ms Ann Horan

MsSineadNi Mhaille

Via Conference call:             Dr Mary Cahill

Also in attendance:               Mr. Andrew Kelly, Chief Executive

Dr. William Murphy, Medical & Scientific Director

Ms Mirenda O’Donovan, Secretary to theBoard

It was agreed that the presentation scheduled for today’s meeting would be deferred until the next Board meeting, after it has been discussed at the Audit & Compliance Committee meeting.  It was noted that Dr Cahill would be joining the meeting by conference call for items 7 and 8 on the agenda.

1.     Minutes of the meeting of theBoardon23^rd February 2010

The minutes of the meeting of the Board on 23^rd February 2010were agreed subject to amendment.

2.     Matters arising

Plexus Report

Some clarification on the methodology used has been given, but there remains some unanswered questions.  The Report will be brought back to the Finance Committee for further discussion and then presented to the Board.

Strategic Plan

This will be brought to the Board in April.

Sub-Committee on Research and Strategy

It was agreed that the Board would have oversight of the proposal being prepared by the Sub-Committee and that the proposal would come before the Board in May. In the interim meetings should take place with the relevant Universities.

Donor Awards Ceremony in Claremorris

The Board recorded its thanks and congratulated the Donor Services team for the success of the Donor Awards Ceremony held in Claremorris on 21st March.

3.     Chief Executive’s Report

Blood supply

The blood supply for February and the start of March remained strong following our appeal in January.  Training for hospital laboratory scientists in the BSMS will take place at the NBC this week.

Quality

During the NHO inspection by the IMB, the issue of Governance was raised again by the IBTS.  This has also been raised again with the DOH&C.  The DOH&C have said that they will propose a solution in the near future, however the IBTS position remains that the only way to resolve the Governance issue is to change the legislation setting out the reporting requirements.

HR Issues

The drivers met last week to discuss the transport review proposals. 

MUH

Transfer took place on 3^rd March as planned.  There have been no issues reported.

Donor Grouping

The date for transferring Donor Grouping to the NBC has been set as 1^st July.  This may have to happen earlier due to staffing issues in Cork. The date selected is to facilitate the completion of a contingency arrangement with SNBTS.

CorkCentre

A meeting has been sought with the design team for developing the Control Plan on CUH for 30^th March.  A survey on an alternative site has been completed, however, there are a number of issues with the site and a value for money assessment will need to be carried out to look at comparative costs.

Pension Scheme

There has been no further communication from the DOH&C or the Department of Finance.  The historic liability identified by the actuary in 2008 is still unpaid.  The Pensions Board has indicated that it would be amenable to granting an extension for the submission of a plan to refinance the scheme. Correspondence from the Chairperson of the Trustees was noted.

      Finance

The C&AGs office has notified IBTS that it will not now commence its audit until mid-May.  This has implications for the requirement of the Revised Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies for the Annual Report to be submitted to the Minister within 6 months of the end of the year.  The IBTS is awaiting confirmation in writing from the C&AG of the rescheduled audit, before seeking a derogation from the Minister.

4.     Presentation on Quality & Compliance

This item has been deferred to the April meeting.

5.     Performance Framework – Code of Practice

The CE has discussed the suggestion that a decision making protocol be put in place between the DOH&C and the IBTS at a meeting with the DOH&C, however further discussions are required on this issue.

The Performance Framework, which is required under the Revised Code of Practice will be aligned with the Business Plan and the Strategic Plan. A number of meetings have taken place between the IBTS and senior management in the HSE to build on those relationships. 

It was agreed that the CE would report to the Board at least 6 monthly on progress with the performance framework. The Performance Framework was proposed for Board approval by Mr David Keenan and seconded by Ms Jane O’Brien.

6.     Finance Committee Meeting27th November 2009

The minutes were taken as read.  The Finance Committee had met on 1^st March.  The proposed Capex for 2010 is €5m.  The Remuneration Committee have agreed a set of KPIs for the Chief Executive and these will be filtered through to KPI’s for senior management. 

It was also agreed that large supplier contracts would go to the Finance Committee before they go to the Board for approval.  

It was also agreed that in addition to providing agreed minutes from sub-committees of the Board, the relevant Chairperson would brief the Board on their most recent meetings.

10. Correspondence

The Chairperson had written to the Minister for Health and Children regarding the Advisory Committee on vCJD and received an acknowledgement.  It was noted that a decision on the introduction of prion filtration for children in the UK seemed imminent.  It was also noted that in the event the UK decided to introduce prion filtration for children then a decision on whether to implement this technology in Ireland will become a matter for Government. 

It was agreed that the M&SD would update the previous submission made to the DOH&C on the options for prion filtration in anticipation of a UK decision. 

7.     Minutes of the MAC meeting19^th January 2010

It was noted that there was as yet no resolution to the issue of governance of the NHO.  It was noted that the UK Sabre system allows mandatory reporting to the competent authority as well as voluntary reporting.  The platelets usage report will be discussed at the next MAC before it is brought to the Board.  It was noted that there is still a vacancy on the Board following Dr Van Der Poel’s resignation.  A number of additional specialists have agreed to participate at the MAC and these were approved by the Board.

8.     Sub-Committee on Research and Strategy

It was agreed that the proposal be brought to the May Board meeting.  It was agreed that the HRB would also be included in the process.  It was agreed that the CE, the M&SD and a sub-committee member who was available would attend the initial meetings with the Universities to outline the IBTS objectives of this policy.  It was agreed that it was critical that the outcomes of any collaborations would be in line with overall IBTS objectives. 

It was agreed that the heads of the medical schools/Professors of Medicine be written to seeking initial meetings and that this process be concluded before the proposal is formulated.

11. Date of next meeting

The next meeting of the Board of the IBTS will be held on Tuesday 20^th April in the NBC at 2pm.

Signed:__________________                                    Date:_______________