Source: Radio New Zealand
National Secretary for Apex, Deborah Powell said they have had more courier breakdowns recently, resulting in lab test delays. 123rf
Break downs in courier services has meant more unnecessary delays in vital lab testing for Gisborne patients as samples are being sent hundreds of kilometres across the country.
Apex represents MedLab workers who are currently locked in a pay dispute.
It says patient samples are being sent to Palmerston North for testing, resulting in days long delays for some cases.
National Secretary for Apex, Deborah Powell told Checkpoint it is not uncommon for samples to get stuck somewhere that they shouldn’t.
“We’ve had a couple of breakdowns of courier recently.
“In late November one of them broke down in Taupo a courier had to be sent up from Palmerston to pick both samples up but they stayed overnight in the van.
“We’re not quite sure whether they were refrigerated or not.”
Apex says delays to key diagnostic tests for life threatening conditions like meningitis, leukaemia and antibiotic resistance are because the medical lab at Gisborne is 50 percent owned by a private company that is profit driven.
Powell said samples are being taken to Palmerston North which is the head lab for that particular outfit of MedLab.
“They’re not even taking them to Tauranga or to Hawke’s Bay, or if they land in Auckland, to one of the Auckland labs, because they would have to pay those labs to have the tests done.”
Powell said there needed to be a proper lab up and running in Gisborne.
“This company has just issued a five million dollar profit and we believe that they’re you know saving money to make a profit over actually delivering a proper lab in this remote area of New Zealand.”
She said even on a good day when the labs are working there is a 24-hour delay and if it is a weekend a three-hour delay could be expected.
This impacted patients as it made it harder for doctors to quickly identify issues and administer the right medication.
“The doctors do their best, if it is an infection they will try different anti-biotics.”
Powell said if the first anti biotic didn’t work doctors would try different anti-biotics to try and kill the bug while they wait for results.
“For the patient that means they’re getting an awful lot of different anti-biotics while the doctors try and treat them.
“Whereas if they were in another hospital laboratory the bug would be identified quicker and the right anti-biotic would be moved in there.”
She said they had raised the issue with Te Whatu Ora repeatedly over the last six months are yet to get a response.
Health New Zealand Midland regional executive director Cath Cronin says they are aware of the delays and had been working with the lab provider to resolve the issues.
Cronin said microbiology tests have been sent to Palmerston North twice a day for the past nine years.
She said initial sample analysis is performed by MedLab at Gisborne Hospital, with further processing in Palmerston North using sophisticated technology.
She added that microbiology testing was shifted to ensure a reliable and safe service as recruitment and retention of scarce laboratory staff in Tairāwhiti was not assured.
She said the contract for the lab, known as TLAB, sets clear service delivery requirements to ensure timeliness and appropriate quality and safety of delivery.
And she said Tairāwhiti Hospital is satisfied with the services provided by TLAB, including microbiology.
Health NZ contracts three private providers to deliver community and hospital-referred diagnostic testing around New Zealand.
Payment of dividends to shareholders by private providers, such as providers of laboratory services or other healthcare providers, is common.
Medlab Central has three centres in its group including Gisborne, Palmerston North, and Whanganui, based in the local public hospitals.
The dividend paid by Medlab Central is from its consolidated entity for all services it provides, including privately funded testing.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
