HC Deb 28 October 2002 vol 391 cc513-5W
Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of retained organs at the Royal Victoria Hospital were(a) destroyed after a short period of time, (b) used for research, (c) sent to other hospitals and (d) stored at the Royal Victoria Hospital between 1972 and 2001. [76640]

Mr. Desmond Browne

The information requested is not available.

Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been held accountable for the errors in organ retention at the Royal Victoria Hospital; and what the ratio of organ retention was during the(a) pre-trust and (b) post-trust periods. [76629]

Mr. Desmond Browne

The Board of the Royal Group of Hospitals Trust has fully accepted all the criticisms and recommendations outlined in the report of the Human Organs Inquiry. No individuals have been held accountable, since the actions taken previously were in line with what was considered appropriate professional practice at the time.

Information is not available on the ratio of organ retention before and after the establishment of the trust.

Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many organs were retained at the Royal Victoria Hospital between 1972 and 2001; what the ratio was between heart and other organs; and what definitions of(a) organs and (b) tissues were used. [76636]

Mr. Desmond Browne

The inventory provided by the Royal Victoria Hospital to the Chief Medical Officer in March 2001 showed that a total of 1,131 organs were retained and stored in the period 1970 and 2001 (including 151 paediatric organs that pre-dated 1970). Approximately one-third of the organs were hearts.

For the purposes of the inventory an organ was defined as an entire organ or something that was recognisably an organ. Tissue referred to the contents of blocks and slides derived from organs or larger samples. The Human Organs Inquiry used the following definitions: "Organ(s)—a part of the body composed of more than one tissue that forms a structural unit responsible for a particular function (or functions)"; and "Tissue—organs contain tissue, ie collections of cells which give organs their special functions".

Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when Mr. William McKee was appointed(a) Chief Executive of the Royal Victoria Hospital and (b) Chief Executive of the Royal Group of Hospitals. [76637]

Mr. Desmond Browne

The information is as follows(a)Mr. McKee did not hold the position of Chief Executive of the Royal Victoria Hospital. He was however employed by the Eastern Health and Social Services Board as Group Administrator for the Royal Hospitals from September 1988, and as Unit General Manager for the Royal Hospitals from March 1989. (b)He was appointed Chief Executive of the Royal Group of Hospitals and Dental Hospital Health and Social Services Trust from November 1992.

Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on his policy on coroners' post-mortems; and if he will permit bereaved relatives to claim organs retained by the coroner. [76638]

Ms Rosie Winterton

I have been asked to reply as I have ministerial responsibility for the Northern Ireland Court Service, which includes the administration of the Coroners Service. A coroner in the exercise of his judicial discretion may order a post mortem examination in respect of deaths notified to him under the Coroners (Northern Ireland) Act 1959. Where organs are removed for forensic analysis following such a post mortem they may be retained for such period as the coroner thinks fit. It is now policy to inform the relatives of a deceased person if any organs have been retained following a post mortem. At a later stage after the cause of death has been established the Coroner will usually exercise his judicial discretion to return the retained organs to the family.

Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when Dr. Sodhi was employed as resident pathologist at the Royal Victoria Hospital; and how many hearts he retained after post-mortem during that time. [76633]

Mr. Desmond Browne

No record of the employment of Dr. Sodhi or of any details of organ retention by him/her is available. This may reflect the fact that records of staff employed prior to the 1980s were not retained.