Sir, - This association is a trade union representing approximately 1,000 high qualified medical laboratory scientists in Ireland, 80 of whom are employed by the Blood Transfusion Service Board.
Anyone who contracted Hepatitis C as a result of the contamination of blood and blood products deserves the utmost sympathy and support, in light of the enormous suffering caused. Justice Finlay, in his Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the Blood Transfusion Service Board, dealt comprehensively with the evidenced surrounding the contamination of blood products with Hepatitis C virus and established that major errors of judgment were made at directorate and senior operational level within the organisation.
The process of restructuring the BTSB, now well underway, requires the goodwill, support and cooperation of everyone involved. Every effort is being made by the chief executive officer, the medical director and the staff, through their respective staff associations, to implement the organisation's strategic development plan.
Mary Harney ("Morning Ireland", March 19th) called for the disbandment of the Blood Transfusion Service Board and the blanket firing of staff. To suggest that everyone employed in the BTSB should be sacked, whether or not they were guilty of any wrong doing, was a disproportionate reaction to the recent clerical error. Moreover, it was an insult to the silent majority of Blood Transfusion Service Board employees, who continue to demonstrate an unfailing dedication to the provision of essential services.
Transfusion medicine plays a vital role in patient care. If the BTSB were disbanded, clinicians' access to the full range of modern treatments would be severely curtailed and patients would suffer. No other organisation in the State can provide the service currently provided by the board. Cheap political pointscoring ignores all the good work done by BTSB. employees and is a distraction from the work that remains to be done. - Yours, etc.,
Secretary,
Medical Laboratory Technologists Association,
Liberty Hall,
Dublin 1.