DHB slammed over lab set-up
Plans for Taranaki’s new medical laboratory are up in the air and two unions have slated the health board’s handling of the situation as ‘‘shambolic’’ and ‘‘foolish.’’
On Friday, the Taranaki District Health Board confirmed it was revisiting its plans for the new, purpose-built lab run by a single, private provider after a change in government policy.
Medical laboratory workers’ union Apex’s national secretary Dr Deborah Powell said the health board’s attempt to set up the new lab had been a mess from the beginning.
‘‘It comes after a very long and tortuous, and in our view, badly managed process,’’ she said.
‘‘We raised concerns from day one.’’ She said there were a number of issues with the way the board went about finding a provider, and the lack of preparation it had put into developing specifications that provider would need to meet. ‘‘It’s been a shambolic process.’’
Board chief executive Rosemary Clements said calling it shambolic was unfair.
‘‘It was a robust process that was well considered and consulted on,’’ she said.
Since the board announced the plans for the new lab in 2016 it has come under fire for failing to consult with unions and for initially stating it was in talks with its preferred private provider, MedLab, without exploring the market.
It later backed out of the negotiations with MedLab. Despite the way it had been handled to date, Powell said a new lab was essential for the running of the healthcare system in Taranaki.
This was heightened by concerns the current laboratory posed health and safety risks and was in danger of not meeting the requirements for recertification as an accredited medical laboratory, she said.
‘‘A new lab has to be a priority for this district health board.’’
Clements said the board was revisiting its plans.
Executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, Ian Powell, unrelated to Deborah Powell, said senior doctors were pleased the board had put the brakes on the plan to privatise the laboratory services.
‘‘The DHB was foolish to even consider privatisation in the first place and it certainly should have seen the writing on the wall after clear signals from the new Labour coalition government that it would not be handing over control of public assets to private interests,’’ he said.
‘‘We congratulate the minister on getting the message through to slow learners.’’
But Clements said it was still the plan to institute a new laboratory service.
‘‘This is still the direction we will be seeking to take. However, how this is achieved needs to be in line with the Minister of Health’s letter of expectation.’’
She said the board strongly believed there would be significant benefits in a single laboratory service for Taranaki.