WP calls for Committee of Inquiry on Hep C outbreak

SINGAPORE – The Workers’ Party (WP) has called for the committee reviewing the Hepatitis C outbreak at the Singapore General Hospital to be reconstituted as a Committee Of Inquiry (COI) under the Inquiries Act, citing a need for the committee’s deliberations to be made public.

The party suggested the appointments of retired health-care professionals and clinicians, as well as a person qualified to be a High Court judge, to be part of the COI to “conduct a truly rigorous and, where necessary, critical review”.

In the statement from Non-Constituency Member of Parliament-elect Leon Perera, the WP referenced past COIs convened for the 2011 MRT breakdowns and 2013 Little India riot to strengthen public confidence in the public transport and security systems respectively.

“The Hepatitis C outbreak is at least as grave an incident as the MRT breakdowns and Little India riot, with serious implications for the public confidence of Singaporeans and foreign stake-holders in our vital national institutions,” said Mr Perera.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) had called for an independent review committee, consisting of seven medical professionals drawn from the ministry and public hospitals. Independent experts have been invited to advise the committee looking into the MOH’s responses in this episode.

But, the WP argued that the committee’s work to review MOH’s workflow, and its composition of current clinicians in public health care, will place them “in an awkward position”.

“These individuals are effectively being asked to critique the actions of senior civil servants who oversee and administer government policy that affects their work as clinicians on a day-to-day basis,” he said, and suggested there was a need for a retired clinician or health-care administrator to co-chair the committee.

While the WP welcomed the committee being tasked to look into the MOH’s procedures and actions in the Hepatitis C episode, Mr Perera said: “To this end, not only must the review be rigorous, transparent, independent and fair in terms of its outcomes. It must also be seen to be so.”

He added that the outbreak and the Government’s response exposed potential gaps in Singapore’s public health protection protocols, resulting in risk to lives and “considerable implications” for the country’s status as an international business and tourism hub.

The WP called on the MOH to “explicitly task” the committee to investigate the reasons for the “extended delays” in this matter.

The party cited the discovery of the Hepatitis C Cluster around April to May and the notification given to the MOH in late August, as well as the Director of Medical Services knowing about the outbreak on Sept 3 and Health Minister Gan Kim Yong only being informed on Sept 18.

The WP also highlighted that the committee’s terms of references “do not explicitly state that the committee is required to arrive at conclusions and recommendations about the timeliness of public alerts and preventive or containment measures”.

“The Workers’ Party regrets the degree of delay between the discovery of a probable cluster of infections in April/May and the initiation of public notification and screening in October,” said Mr Perera.

“We hold that a responsible and transparent government should explain in detail how the delays in public notification and screening from April/May to October represent actions that were taken in the best interests of patient safety and risk minimisation to patients.”