THE Blood Transfusion Service Board is seeking legal advice on the position of the woman who was strongly criticised in the report of the Hepatitis C Tribunal. The Board intends to deal with the issue of her employment as quickly as possible, according to the BTSB's chief executive officer, Mr Liam Dunbar.
Mr Dunbar said yesterday that Mrs Cecily Cunningham, principal biochemist of the BTSB at the time the anti-D infection occurred, had been sent a copy of the report by the board.
Mrs Cunningham went on sick leave during the tribunal, two months ago. Of those named in the report she is the only one still employed by the BTSB.
She is on full pay and the board has been receiving regular sick certificates. Mr Dunbar said she had not been involved in the production of blood products since February 1994. "She is on sick leave, but that is not something we can leave it at," Mr Dunbar said.
He said the conclusions of the report were "very direct and straight" and he was sure Mrs Cunningham would read it "very carefully". He described the report as "very fair".
"I want to conclude this matter in the least possible time. We will be examining as a matter of urgency the evidence given at the tribunal and the conclusions of the report about her responsibility," Mr Dunbar said.
The report found that Mrs Cunningham, who ran the laboratory where anti-D was produced, "bore an important and serious responsibility" for the product being infected.
In 1991 she ignored warning signs arising from a form of hepatitis C test, "due apparently to indifference", the report says. Mrs Cunningham could not be contacted yesterday.
Meanwhile, the wife of the former national director of the Blood Transfusion Service Board, Dr Jack O'Riordan, said her husband was not aware of the contents of the report.
In his report, Mr Justice Finlay said Dr O'Riordan bore the "major responsibility" for the infection of anti-D with the hepatitis C virus. His wife, Eileen, told The Irish Times yesterday that her husband, who will be 83 this month, had just come out of hospital and was "not well at all".
Asked if her husband was aware of the content of the report, Mrs O'Riordan said: "No, I wouldn't think so. He is unwell, as I have already told you." Asked for her own reaction to the report, she said her husband was "very old, extremely old, so of course everyone is extremely upset".
Dr Terry Walsh, former national director of the BTSB, was not available for comment yesterday. The report said he was in neglect of his duty when he failed to recommend against using patient X's plasma as soon as he learned of her jaundice and hepatitis.
Meanwhile, the board's chief executive, Mr Dunbar, said that the "sad events" of the past had now been clearly dealt with and the board would again wish to offer its profound apologies for what had happened.
He said that it had noted that the report had been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions. It was constrained, therefore, from referring to certain conclusions reached by the tribunal.
"The BTSB has noted carefully the Government's statement in relation to the report and all appropriate actions arising out of the findings of the tribunal are being put in hand. The BTSB particularly welcomes the endorsement given by the tribunal to the reorganisation and the development plans drawn up by its new management. We will now be able, with the assistance of the Department of Health, to proceed vigorously with the various initiatives listed under that heading," Mr Dunbar said.