Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I am not raising this issue to be provocative or to seek somebody's head. Rather, I put down this Adjournment matter with a sense of desperation. I have a personal interest in this issue. Some years ago, having sought a particular file on behalf of a constituent, I was told that such files were the property of the then Southern Health Board and could not be viewed by the individual concerned. The constituent accepted this response but it seemed to me a peculiar situation. In 2006, another constituent sought information contained in a particular file only to be told that the file had been destroyed. On 18 December 2006, I put down a question to the Minister on the disposal of files and received a comprehensive and reassuring answer. However, today's development is startling on several fronts. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Michael P. Kitt, can answer my questions and, if not, that the Department will get back to me as quickly as possible.

It seems the files that have been uncovered are the very ones which could not be discovered by those women who sought them in reference to the hepatitis C and anti-D debacle. Most of those files were from the 1970s and 1980s, with a small number from the early 1990s. Some of the women who could not prove that the anti-D immunoglobulin they received was contaminated were those whose files had been destroyed or had gone missing. Many files were still available and had been micro-filmed. I do not want to engage in scare tactics and heighten people's fears. However, the relationship between patients and doctors is considered sacrosanct. Patients may not have told their families about conditions for which they are receiving treatment. Even if they had, they most definitely did not want the wider public to know about them. We have all been in this position.

If it is the case that files were unearthed, I want to know who was responsible, how this happened and whether it could happen again. Has the HSE laid claim to these files and taken repossession of them? Will the HSE contact the people involved, let them know what happened and reassure them this will not happen again? We must have confidence in our health service. I accept that this is the last thing the HSE needs at the moment. However, we must obtain reassurance these files are back in the possession of the HSE, that they will be secured this time and that, if they should be destroyed, this will be done.

Will an investigation be undertaken to determine if some of the files unearthed and rediscovered are those sought by women in respect of hepatitis C? If so, will they now be made available? The public must be reassured their private and confidential details held by the HSE are protected and that if they are to be destroyed in the future they will be microfilmed, shredded or incinerated. Perhaps the Minister of State will outline how we are to provide this reassurance to those people who must now be seriously worried.

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