Labtests given ultimatum

Auckland's new community laboratory company Labtests was last night given an ultimatum - improve its service or face "contractual" consequences.

Auckland District Health Board chairman Pat Snedden announced the new hardline stance after a groundswell of criticism about the service and "anxiety" over the speed issues were being addressed.

At a press conference, Snedden said there were indications the public could be at risk if problems were not dealt with swiftly, and bosses of Labtests' Australian parent company, Healthscope, were flying to Auckland today to discuss the urgent issues.

Earlier in the day, Labtests had for the first time apologised to those who had experienced difficulties. The company has been dogged with negative publicity - reports of delays, difficulty contacting staff and misdirected results - since the start of the "transition period" from its rival Diagnostic Medlabs (DML) five weeks ago. The period ends this week.

Labtests is now contracted to three Auckland district health boards to test up to 10,000 patients a day, taking blood and other biological samples at 56 collection centres.

On Friday, Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson said it was just a matter of time before "something significant goes wrong".

He has received 13 complaints from GPs, specialists, a midwife and patients, including a claim that there was a 13-and-a-half hour delay in testing and reporting on a newborn baby which appeared to require urgent care. Medical Association chairman Peter Foley has also strongly criticised Labtests.

Snedden last night told the Sunday Star-Times the decision to turn the heat up on Labtests was prompted by Paterson's concerns and overwhelming feeling among clinicians and the public. He said Labtests was not fulfilling the terms of its contact and there were "contractual levers", including financial penalties, to hold the company to account.

"We are starting to feel very clearly that Labtests need to pick up their act ... What we're saying to Labtests is, we don't think you're fufilling the terms of the contract at the moment."

In a step to mitigate the bad publicity, Labtests yesterday took out an advertisement in today's Star-Times.

The open letter from medical director Dr Richard Lloydd aims to allay the fears of GPs and the public. "We are fully aware of the issues that have been a concern to practitioners through this transition - and we take full responsibility fixing them."

Emotions have run high as Labtests seeks to dampen the firestorm of negative reports. In the past week the Star-Times has received dozens of calls and emails from Labtests public relations staff and other insiders - one in tears. Some spoke of corporate sabotage and media bias.

The battle between Labtests and Diagnostic Medlabs - Australian- owned companies - has been long and bitter. First came a legal stoush over the three Auckland DHBs' 2006 decision to award Labtests the $70 million-a-year contract over DML, which had held the contract for almost a decade. Labtests pledged to run the service for $15m less a year.

Even after the Supreme Court threw out an appeal by DML, a war of words continued.

Last week, a Labtests spokeswoman told the Star-Times that staff had observed a number of dubious actions by DML. In an email, the spokeswoman alleged patients had been video-recorded outside collection centres by DML staff; DML staff had been sitting in collection centres to delay handover; DML staff had sat in Labtests collection centre waiting rooms taking notes and DML staff had parked a truck in the exit of a Labtests collection centre, preventing patients from leaving the carpark for over an hour. She also alleged a mobile phlebotomist had been followed on a round by a DML car.

DML director of clinical services Paul Ockelford said: "We have always played this game quite ethically. Should we have gone out and done the filming? Maybe not, but it was done out of sheer exasperation."

He said DML had been trying to disprove assertions by DHBs that all was well with the new Labtests service.

He said DML cars had been tailed by Labtests staff. Of the truck, he said: "Oh boo hoo. That happened in Colmar Rd when we were shifting our stuff out. It was a moving truck, because we were shifting. And there was another entrance."

Labtests chief executive Ulf Lindskog said most complaints received from GPs related to difficulty contacting clinicians. That had been addressed by a direct line on Friday and, as of tomorrow, doctors could access mobile numbers for clinicians.

- © Fairfax NZ News