Hospital cramped by delay in tests
DELAYED pathology results could be contributing to high bed occupancy at Geelong hospital, the state’s peak medical science body claims.
Medical Scientists Association of Victoria secretary Paul Elliott said patients were waiting longer for results because testing previously performed at Barwon Health was being conducted in Melbourne.
Mr Elliott said moving testing offsite had been a trend since the Australian Clinical Laboratories took over the contract from St John of God in October 2016, but the recent decision to send flu swabs away was potentially fatal.
He said the test, which could take one day at Geelong, was taking three or four days, sometimes up to seven.
“Scientists are really concerned, it’s not right and it’s dangerous. Particularly with severe strains of flu,” he said.
“Delayed testing means delayed diagnosis and delayed commencement of treatment, which can have an adverse impact on the care of a patient, depending on the condition.”
Mr Elliott said in public acute care hospitals such as Geelong, anywhere between 85 and 90 per cent of diagnoses happened through, or alongside, a pathology test.
This week Barwon Health was advising patients to avoid its emergency department, due to a number of busy days when it was averaging more than 200 patients.
Mr Elliott said there was every reason to believe beds were being taken by patients waiting longer for results — some of whom might not need to be there at all.
“We’ve got examples that we have raised with the (Bendigo) hospital where testing is sent to Melbourne, and as a result of the delays, patients have had to be admitted and have waited until the delayed result was returned, only to be advised, not a problem, you’re clear,” he said.
Mr Elliott said when ACL took over, it started to reduce the number of staff in the Geelong laboratory — particularly scientists — and shipped testing to Melbourne, causing an “ongoing issue” with turnaround times.
“There has been a deliberate policy of shipping testing, by their own words, to achieve cost savings. Nothing to do with clinical care, nothing to do with good pathology practice, it’s just about saving money,” he said.
“It is incumbent on the executives of Barwon Health to pull this contractor into line and to make sure the contractor acts in ways that are in the best interest of patients, not in the best interest of their profit.”
Barwon Health spokeswoman Kate Bibby said the organisation was unable to comment.
“We are currently in the evaluation phase of our pathology tenders. We are unable to provide comment on this matter due to probity requirements,” Ms Bibby said.
ACL did not respond to inquiries by deadline.