March50th meeting at the Auberge Saint-AntoineSalle Philippe-de-Comporté, Wednesday, Absent: Hemovigilance Committee Observer: Guests: 1. Call to order 2. Adoption of the agenda 3. Adoption of the minutes of the 49th meeting held on February 4, 2004 4. Unfinished business from the minutes of the 49th meeting Nevertheless, two weeks ago Héma-Québec was notified that the CSN had submitted a request for a change in accreditation. Further to that request and since no objections were submitted by the parties, the Québec City nurses are now represented by the CSN. Héma-Québec hopes that this change will have a positive effect on the negotiating process. Considering this turn of events, there have been no more meetings and Héma-Québec is considering possible avenues for restarting negotiations quickly. A follow-up will be presented at the next meeting. 4.2 West Nile virus: update Nevertheless, even if Health Canada approves the seasonal stop of testing at the end of the period stipulated, it is too late to stop screening tests for this year. Health Canada’s decision could apply to the next WNV season. A follow-up will be presented at the next meeting. FD 4.3 2003–2004 grant from the Ministère de la santé et des Services sociaux: financing for “other services” Moreover, the CEO reported on a letter received March 8, 2004, from Approvisionnement-Montréal approving the 2004–2005 rates for labile products and the exchange rate used for the 2004–2005 budget. A follow-up will be presented at the next meeting. 4.4 Inspection by Health Canada of the Montréal facility: discussion of observations The members read the observations and Héma-Québec’s responses to them. These observations concern good manufacturing practices and primarily the shortcomings in terms of documentation. The members said that the fact that there were few observations and the nature of the observations made attest to the high level of safety of the products manufactured by Héma-Québec. The members asked to have their congratulations passed on to the staff members concerned. 4.5 Pay equity program: information about the progress made in this matter 4.6 Tabling of the document on residual risks (HIV, HTLV I and II, hepatitis B, hepatitis C) for information purposes The members are of the opinion that this is excellent work. They did, however, ask why the residual risk for hepatitis C is higher in Québec than in the rest of Canada. 5. Board business Since the pilot project has ended, the CEO questioned the members about the pertinence of continuing with this type of meeting. The members are of the opinion that it is important to continue with this exercise in transparency. They find the formula interesting and proposed we continue to use it. The schedule of upcoming meetings was presented. The CEO indicated that the members who wish to take part in one of these meetings should contact the meeting assistant. Moreover, in order to advertise the public regional meetings, the members proposed that:
They also asked Héma-Québec to develop a system for recognizing volunteers. Y. Charbonneau Ms. Cheryl Campbell Steer joined the meeting. 5.2 Amendment to the mandate of the Safety Advisory Committee
The CEO suggested modifying the mandate of the Safety Advisory Committee (“SAC”) and adding a representative from Canadian Blood Services since a representative of Héma-Québec sits on Canadian Blood Services safety advisory committee. She also suggested adding a representative of the public. To do this, the amended version of the SAC mandate was tabled for approval. Motion to adopt the amended version of the SAC mandate as presented and as appended to these presents. Seconded. Adopted unanimously. Moreover, the CEO proposed that we appoint Dr. Stephen Vamvakas of Canadian Blood Services and Mr. David Page of the Canadian Hemophilia Society to serve as members of the SAC for a period of five years. Motion to appoint Dr. Stephen Vamvakas and Mr. David Page to serve as members of the SAC, for a period of five years. Seconded. Adopted unanimously. 6. Financial affairs The members discussed the advantages for the Québec blood system of setting up a fictional billing procedure. They are of the opinion that this method enabled the hospital managers to realize the cost involved in manufacturing and distributing blood products. As a result of this raising of awareness, the hospitals are revising their blood product management process. The members asked about the effect of this fictional billing on reducing the demand from hospitals for blood products, particularly packed red blood cells, this year. They proposed that this matter be analyzed in more depth in order to attempt to explain this unexpected phenomenon. Among other things, a comparison with deliveries from the Canadian Blood Services and the America’s Blood Centers would seem appropriate. GL 6.2 Stable products: distribution of a new product The members of the Board had no objections to taking on this new mandate as long as the transfer of the sums required to acquire the product is guaranteed by a letter from the MSSS. Without such a guarantee, Héma-Québec will not distribute this product. 6.3 Changes to the RBC Royal Bank financing terms for the Québec City project The RBC Royal Bank and Héma-Québec agreed to specific loan terms. In keeping with the bylaws, the Board must approve the terms for this loan. Motion to adopt the resolution entitled “RBC Royal Bank Financing Terms for the Québec City Project,” a copy of which is appended. Seconded. Adopted unanimously. 6.4 Modification to the authorization schedule Following discussion, motion to amend footnote 3 to read as follows, “The levels of authorization indicated in this policy cannot be delegated to subordinates. During vacations or when a position is vacant, the immediate supervisor must fulfill these functions or appoint an individual at the same level to fulfill them on an interim basis, with the exception of the CEO, who could specifically delegate a vice-president to sign a specific agreement.” 7. Safety of the supply Moreover, the Institut de la santé publique is currently working on developing a contingency plan in case of a pandemic that would apply to organizations that provide essential services. The CEO added that Héma-Québec has also implemented administrative instructions in the event of a SARS pandemic in Québec. These instructions may apply to other contagious disease with the necessary modifications. 8. Management report However, the environment changed quickly and, following the decision by Héma-Québec to take charge of implementing a cord blood bank, the argument for ending the stem cell cryopreservation program was no longer valid. For this reason, during a recent meeting, the Board asked the CEO to re-evalu ate the decision to abandon the program. Since the collection, processing and conservation of stem cells is now an integral part of Héma-Québec’s mission, the peripheral stem cell cryopreservation program for autologous donations will be continued. However, this activity must be self-financing. 8.2 Integrated human resources management system (SIGRHQ)—presentation They agreed that it is important to implement such an information system at Héma-Québec, but nevertheless asked for a report on the progress of the work, with details about deadlines, costs and the expected benefits, for the next meeting. At the request of the members, the CEO will submit a post-implementation report on PRISM and SIPS to see if the expected savings were achieved. 8.3 Projects underway in 2003–2004 For the next meeting, the CEO will present the projects planned for 2004–2005. 8.4 Inspection of the AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) of the Québec City facility on February 17, 2004, and the Montréal facility on February 18–19, 2004 9. Other business 10. Next meeting 11. Adjournment | Minutes |