Health and Community Care Committee, 07 Dec 1999
Meeting date: Tuesday, December 7, 1999
Official Report
155KB pdf
Convener's Report
Like many members of the committee, I had a meeting recently with the Haemophilia Society. I was unable to make the initial meeting because of a televisual link, which I think was a first, of all the Assemblies and Parliaments in the UK on AIDS. Richard Simpson and I met the society later.
The society proposed that the committee undertake a full public inquiry into people with haemophilia who have been infected with hepatitis C. I said that I do not think that the committee is the way to do that, given our work load, our limited resources and because the Minister for Health and Community Care and her department are undertaking an internal review. It is better to wait until that report has been put together than to start another inquiry or to call for anyone else to do so.
I recognise that members of the Haemophilia Society do not see the Executive's internal review as an independent, public inquiry, but I nevertheless said that it was better for us to await its outcome. Copies of the internal report will be given to the society and to the committee. I suggest that we consider the matter then and, if we feel that there are issues outstanding, decide what needs to be done, either by the Executive or as a public inquiry. Does the committee agree with that?
Members indicated agreement.
I will write to the Minister for Health and Community Care.
I am sure many of us are cynical about internal reports by the Department of Health in London, so we will study this one very carefully.
This one is in Scotland.
It is an internal report that Susan Deacon instigated following a meeting with the society.
This is an issue only in Scotland.
The issue of hepatitis C infection affects people outwith Scotland, but people with haemophilia here appear to have been infected via the Blood Transfusion Service at least a year earlier than people in other parts of the UK.
We will come back to this subject when the internal report is made available.