THE former chief medical consultant at Pelican House yesterday said the Department of Health twice stopped important new information being circulated about infected anti D in 1994.
Dr Terry Walsh also told the tribunal of inquiry into the hepatitis C scandal he did not know until last December that plasma from donor Y, used in making anti D from 1991, had tested positive for hepatitis C in 1992. He had heard this for the first time from evidence given to the tribunal of inquiry.
He told the tribunal about two attempts in 1994 by the BTSB to circulate information to GPs on the contamination of anti D from donor Y's plasma, which were stopped by the Department of Health. The first attempt was stalled by the Department in April 1994. He also explained how a further attempt by the BTSB to circulate the information to GPs in June 1994, was also stopped by the Department.
He disagreed with evidence from the Department's former chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Niall Tierney, that the release of such information would have further damaged the blood supply at the time. "We felt that hiding the information was going to do far more damage to the blood bank than anything else," Dr Walsh said.
In his evidence yesterday, the former chief executive at the BTSB, Mr Ted Keyes, said he thought the Department's decision on the matter had been conveyed over the phone to him by Ms Dolores Moran. In a brief statement to the tribunal yesterday, Mr Frank Ahern, a principal officer at the Department, said he had made the call.
Dr Walsh said he was "somewhat surprised" that Department officials should have given evidence of their dissatisfaction with information supplied by the BTSB at the meeting of February 17th 1994, when details of the crisis were first presented. He thought that meeting had been "cordial". None of the officials had indicated they were "unhappy at the information given".
Up to that meeting he had been keeping the Department's nominee on the BTSB board, Dr Rosemary Boothman, briefed on developments over the infected anti D. This had continued over a month prior to the February 17th meeting.
He had been advised that "any problems [at the BTSB] should be communicated to her [Dr Boothman] instead of the CMO [Dr Tierney], and I would have presumed Dr Boothman would have discussed [these] with her colleagues." He had met Dr Boothman on January 21st, 1994, to tell her of developments about emerging anti D contamination, and on January 28th he had written her a letter outlining the situation to that point.
She was due to attend a medical sub committee meeting at the BTSB on February 3rd, but was in Waterford that day instead. She attended a medical sub committee on February 9th, however. Dr Boothman's concern was that "further investigations be carried out." She was fully informed at all times about concerns in the BTSB over current stocks and tests being undertaken at the time on patient Y's plasma. These tests indicated the current stocks were "potentially infected".
