Doctor's honesty praised but leave criticised

Prof Ian Temperley, one of the key figures in the inquiry, has been praised in the tribunal report for his work in the National Haemophilia Treatment Centre (NHTC) in Dublin and for his evidence to the tribunal.

However, the report is also critical of some of his actions, particularly in connection with a sabbatical he took which delayed the delivery of HIV test results to patients.

Prof Temperley was medical director of the NHTC for the entire period investigated by the tribunal. He was also a member of the Blood Transfusion Service Board from 1987 to 1999.

"He was remarkably honest," the report said of Prof Temperley's evidence. Justice Lindsay found he was "neither evasive nor defensive" in his evidence. He "seemed to understand the hurt and anger caused by infection with HIV or hepatitis C".

While some personal testimonies described him as "unapproachable, arrogant or dismissive", the tribunal found he had "a deep professional and personal commitment to the welfare of his patients".

However, the report identified major problems with the factors surrounding his sabbatical leave in 1985. It found he should have postponed the sabbatical for some months so that patients could be informed of their HIV test results.

Prof Temperley received batches of results from a Middlesex laboratory in March and April, 1985 but took a sabbatical from May to October 1985 without putting in place a system of informing patients when he was away.

"Since Prof Temperley was not able to put in place a system capable of informing patients of their results reasonably promptly before he went on sabbatical leave, the tribunal believes he should have postponed the commencement of his sabbatical, perhaps until the end of June, and that he should himself have commenced informing patients of their results during the months of May and June."

The report was also critical of "a completely unacceptable failure" to tell a mother "Felicity" that her three sons were hepatitis C antibody positive. The results were available in December 1991, but "Felicity" only heard the news from another doctor in October, 1995.

During his evidence, Prof Temperley said he bitterly regretted this failure.

Prof Temperley's sabbatical also impacted on another issue examined by the inquiry. The need to use heat treated products to prevent the spread of HIV became obvious over the summer of 1985 when Prof Temperley was on leave. In August, his locum, Dr Helena Daly drew his attention to the need for heat treatment but Prof Temperley did not instruct Dr Daly to switch all patients to heat-treated product.

The report also criticised his failure to discuss the risk of AIDS with "Jackie" the mother of a boy who died from an AIDS-related illness.