WP responds to MOH statement on Hep C outbreak

The Workers’ Party has responded to a statement by the Ministry of Health (MOH) issued in response to an earlier media release by WP that calls for a Committee of Inquiry to investigate the Hepatitis C virus infection cluster at Singapore General Hospital.

In the latest WP statement, Leon Perera, the party's Non-Constituency Member of Parliament-elect, referred to “whatever allegations it (WP) might have” in the last sentence of MOH’s statement.

Perera said the MOH statement also observed that the earlier WP statement did not impute any improper motives to Singapore General Hospital or MOH officers.

Hence, WP finds the reference to “allegations” that it may or may not have to be “confusing, distracting and unhelpful.”

“We have been consistently clear that we are not making allegations in this regard,” Perera said.

The two WP statements and MOH statement were issued on Sunday (25 Oct).

The MOH statement does not address the merits of convening a COI that were highlighted in the WP statement with regard to the composition of the independent review committee, making the committee’s deliberations public and the necessity of tasking the committee to address the issue of timeline in notifying the public on the outbreak and the containment measures, Perara added.

“The burden of responsibility resides with the government in this matter. We reiterate our call for a COI based on the arguments made in our earlier statement today which have not been substantively addressed by today’s MOH statement,” he said.