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17th Sept - Labtests admits only 15 pathologists in the country right now    Labtests says five of the 20 pathologists listed on its website are not yet formally registered to practice in New Zealand because they have not yet arrived for their final face-to-face interviews with Medical Council staff. The other 15 pathologists listed on the Labtests' website are fully registered, but Healthscope chief medical director Dr Michael Coglin told NZPA the five coming from overseas had been through most of their pre-registration checks by the council, and each had been issued with a registration number [Webmaster's note: Labtests has updated its pathologist bios, and including Dr Lloydd, apparently only 11 of their 17 pathologists is actually in NZ doing our tests right now -- FAR short of DML's 27 FTEs and 9 PTEs. Is this what Labtests calls "fully-staffed"?]

17th Sept - 5 of Labtests' 20 Pathologists not even in the country yet    Five of the pathologists listed on Labtests' website are not fully registered to practise medicine in New Zealand and have not arrived in the country. Labtests has listed brief biographical details of the 19 pathologists it has hired in addition to its medical director, Dr Richard Lloydd

16th Sept - Labtests' Doctors 'not registered' – Medical Council    The New Zealand Medical Council claimed today that six of the pathologists listed on the under-fire Labtests' website are not yet registered to practice here, and urged Auckland's new laboratory tests provider to be clear about the registration status of the pathologists on its website. [Webmaster's note: Labtests' website has now listed professional bios for their pathologists, and at least part of the severe problems with the new service seems clear. The staff of 27 full-time and 9 part-time pathologists fronted by DML appear to have been replaced by only 17 pathologists – and it is unclear how many of them are actually full-time staff. Based on the biographical descriptions, it would appear that at least 5 of the pathologists are either only here temporarily, or are working from elsewhere.]

16th Sept - Your Views: Is switching from Diagnostic Medlab to Labtests Auckland a good idea?    Auckland-area patients, GPs and nurses relate their personal experiences with the new lab, including stories of excessive waits, failed blood draws, large bruises, blood-smeared chair arms, mixed-up test results, critical results being delayed for days or weeks, and doctor-ordered tests not being done because Labtests decided they 'weren't necessary'

16th Sept - Labtests given two-week deadline
The embattled Labtests is being given two weeks to sort out problems with Auckland's laboratory testing services. The district health boards say Labtests needs time to get it right, amid more reports of botched tests. Richard Burgess had a lot of pain caused by a bad spell of gout. His doctor took a sample of fluid from his arm and sent it to Labtests to be analysed. It was misread and the lab tech thought it was a urine sample. By testing it as urine instead of elbow fluid, the results were totally skewed. When the analysis came through, Burgess had a shock. "What it says is that my doctor should check me for diabetes and chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease"

16th Sept - Mum needled by lab service
Michelle Smith has been having regular tests since she was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in March 2007. Mrs Smith’s monthly blood tests had been quick, efficient and painless until they were done by Labtests. She says she noticed staff struggling to get blood from her, and got a phone call a few days later saying not enough blood had been collected and she needed to go back a second time. It was also more painful than she had experienced before. She says her experience has "not reflected well on Labtests"

16th Sept - Thomas Neitzert: Labtests swap a classic case of project mismanagement     There is now enough blood on the floor, and not only spilled by lab staff in training, for us to take stock and ask for decisive action. The responsibility for the current situation lies equally with the service provider Labtests and the senior public servants in the DHBs who agreed to this. People have been hurt and medical emergency situations have arisen because of this, but we should not wait for fatalities before action is taken

16th Sept - Labtests on notice to fulfil contract
Labtests has been told it is not meeting the requirements of its $190,000-a-day contract and needs to "lift its act" quickly, says ADHB chairman Pat Sneddon, who was one of the original DHB members voting to give the contract to Labtests

16th Sept - Island joins in outcry over Labtests
Waiheke health professionals are adding their voices to the region's mounting concerns about new blood test service providers Labtests. All three Waiheke medical practices say they have had problems. Ostend Medical Centre wanted to continue offering patients living too far from the Oneroa blood clinic a service at the practice. The practice had held a contract with DML for the arrangement and had asked Labtests to continue it. Waiheke Health Trust manager Glenys Stilwell says Labtests had given assurances that Waiheke patients could expect the same level of service to the previous one. But it did not enter into the contract arrangement and an assurance that the matter would be dealt with by Labtests' customer services manager last July came to nothing, with no communication since. It has meant staff having to take bloods without funding. And there has been no response to emails, letters, and phone calls to Labtests' customer services manager, collections manager, and chief executive officer since the beginning of the month

16th Sept - Labtests told to sort problems and fast
Troubled laboratory testing provider Labtests has been told a long-term approach to remedying its problems will not cut the mustard. The company has undertaken a leadership overhaul following numerous complaints from doctors and patients about the new service. A team of senior specialists from District Health Boards has also been sent in to address quality and safety problems at Labtests. Auckland Region District Health Board chairman Pat Sneddon says they want action – and quickly. He says they have told Labtests they need to make progress every day because the Auckland public is not interested in waiting for problems to be remedied over a long period of time

15th Sept - Labtests' contract could be cut
An Auckland health boss says the health boards can terminate their contract with Labtests if they don't get up to scratch, but he expects there won't be a need. The Auckland Region District Health Boards yesterday sent their own senior staff into Labtests to take over control of safety and quality assurance following persistent criticism

15th Sept - Labtests warned: Improve, or else
ADHB Chair Pat Snedden said the DHBs had a number of things they could do if Labtests didn't do their job. "There are 30 day remedies, 30 day notice in order to remedy something that is not sufficiently good enough in the process. If that doesn't happen then there are additional 30 day remedies which require termination of contract if required"

15th Sept - New team at top for Labtests
New managers and doctors have moved into top roles at Labtests in a bid to control the failures that have plagued the new company's first five weeks. Health Minister Tony Ryall and Auckland's three health boards, which are paying Labtests around $190,000 a day under its exclusive contract, have demanded swift action to remedy problems including delays for patients having blood tests and in returning results

15th Sept - Editorial: Labtests must deliver after decisive move     The appointment of six troubleshooters to handle safety and quality assurance is not just about ensuring Labtests fixes its problems. It is also about the district health boards' reputations and the impression that the awarding of the eight-year, $560 million contract to Labtests was a serious blunder

14th Sept - Video: Pat Sneddon with Paul Henry on Breakfast
ADHB Chair Pat Sneddon takes a 'hard stance' about the emergency intervention the DHB has undertaken with Labtests: "By the end of this month, if these problems haven't been solved, I'll be extremely disappointed" then proceeds to blame DML for the transition being a "rocky road"

14th Sept - NEWSFLASH: Labtests' chief executive replaced
Labtests chief executive Ulf Lindskog is being replaced by the company’s chief operating officer of pathology Paul Waterson. Labtests’ owner, Australian firm Healthscope, made the announcement this afternoon. The announcement follows weeks of criticism by health practitioners and the public of Auckland’s new community laboratory provider

14th Sept - Labtests' CEO steps aside
The chief executive officer of Auckland's troubled new laboratory company, Labtests, has stepped aside from the job. The start-up, which began last month, has been plagued by delays for patients and in returning some test results. Some blood samples have been put in the wrong tubes, necessitating the tests being repeated, some patients have complained that phlebotomists have had great difficulty getting the needle in and they have experienced significant pain

14th Sept - Prime Minister wades into Labtests row
PM John Key has waded into the dispute over the new multi-million contract for laboratory testing in Auckland. Mr Key said Health Minister Tony Ryall had made it clear to Auckland's district health boards, and therefore Labtests, that the situation was not acceptable. "The people of Auckland rely on this service, this is a $500 million contract -- they have had a couple of years to get themselves organised," said Mr Key

14th Sept - We'll get it right, embattled Labtests promises Auckland    The Australian company that owns Labtests says its new chief executive has a clinical background and a different skill set from that of its former boss. DML, which used to provide Auckland's laboratory testing services, says people are choosing to pay for its services now because they're unhappy with the new provider

14th Sept - PM tells Labtests: 'Pull up your socks'
Labtests has finally put itself under the microscope. The first head has rolled at the embattled medical company, with its CEO stepping aside. Labtests has been strongly criticised over the speed and accuracy of its operations since taking over a multi-million dollar contract to service the Auckland area. It has only been fully operational for five weeks

14th Sept - Government has its eye on Labtests
The Government has called for Labtests to improve its service in Auckland. Bosses of Auckland's district health boards met with Labtests yesterday to discuss the number of complaints it has received since it launched five weeks ago. They are taking over aspects of the quality and safety of the service in a bid to address the issues swiftly. Prime Minister John Key says at the moment, Labtests' service is unacceptable

14th Sept - Under-pressure Labtests replaces CEO
The boss of embattled medical company Labtests has been replaced as part of a major shake-up ordered by the Auckland District Health Board. The company has been strongly criticised since taking over a multi-million dollar contract to service the Auckland area. Dr Peter Didsbury, who represents more than 550 doctors through Procare, says he has been getting about 70 complaints about Labtests each day. "We have been expressing some concern for some weeks," he says. "I think there's been some tardiness in the way that Labtests have responded to it. But as I say, we are pleased that the gravity of the situation is now recognised"

14th Sept - Labtests Chief Medical Director Offers Assurances
Dr Michael Coglin, Healthscope's Chief Medical Director, says "We acknowledge that there have been a number of problems and difficulties during the transition process which commenced on 10th August 2009. These have impacted on patients and clinicians and for this we apologise and take responsibility. However we also emphasise our resolve to deliver a service that meets expectations of the DHB’s and the public of Auckland"

14th Sept - Labtests CEO resigns, replacement announced
The chief executive of Auckland’s Labtests has resigned amidst controversy over inefficiencies and poor communication with clinicians.Senior representatives from the Auckland boards took control of Labtests over the weekend, after the company was criticised for putting patient’s lives at risk due to delays. Prime Minister John Key has entered the dispute saying Labtests need to improve their systems

14th Sept - Labtests CEO resigns
The head of Auckland's troubled Labtests has resigned after criticism of the company's failures. Labtests also admitted today it had failed to fully consider clinical issues as it concentrated on setting up its main laboratory in Mt Wellington and its collection centres around Auckland. The startup, which began last month, has been plagued by delays, and has come under fire from Prime Minister John Key and Health Minister Tony Ryall

14th Sept - DHB to help Labtests as CEO stood down
A shamble over the testing of blood samples in Auckland has claimed its first big casualty. Just 35 days after Labtests opened its doors, the organisation's chief executive, Ulf Lindskog, has been stood down. The new blood testing service in Auckland is under so much pressure, Labtests has had to accept help from a team of trouble-shooters brought in by the District Health Board for the first time in its 70 years of operation

14th Sept - Under-pressure Labtests replaces CEO
The boss of embattled medical company Labtests has been replaced as part of a major shake-up ordered by the Auckland District Health Board. Dr Michael Coglin has flown in from Australia to treat the damage. The Auckland DHB wants to see results by the end of the month. If they don't, the consequences could be severe, with the DHB having the option of potentially cancelling the contract

14th Sept - Australian owner appoints new boss for troubled Labtests    The Australian parent company of troubled Auckland laboratory testing company, Labtests, has taken over its leadership. The move comes after extensive complaints about the lab testing company and claims the public was at risk, prompting health and disability commissioner Ron Paterson to take the matter to health minister Tony Ryall, according to media reports

14th Sept - DHB steps in to take control of lab testing
A team of experts from the Auckland District Health Board has moved in at the region's troubled new medical testing company, Labtests. The Auckland DHB announced an intervention for the new provider who has been operating in Auckland since early August, after a number of teething difficulties reported by GPs and patients. The audit team of six health officials will handle quality and safety issues at Labtests

14th Sept - Brian Rudman: Medlab's behaviour borders on the pathological    Brian Rudman blames DML for Labtests' utter failure to deliver on 3 years of promises that it could fulfill its contract successfully without using any of DML's staff and facilities

13th Sept - Doctors monitoring intervention
Auckland's three District Health Boards believe the region's new medical testing service will improve, however the reassurance comes as little comfort to doctors. Medical Association chairman, Dr Peter Foley, says the intervention would never have been needed if Labtests had had appropriate systems in place from the outset. He says doctors always had their doubts about the transition. "On behalf of our members and on behalf of the patients of Auckland we remain concerned. We have highlighted right from the start, doubt about the ability for this transition to be smooth and seamless, as was promised"

13th Sept - ADHB Calls In Senior Health officials To Labtests
Auckland's District Health Board has had enough of continued problems at Labtests and have demanded that senior health officials step in and fix it. Six DHB representatives, with executive authority, will begin to work with the company today after a string of complaints

13th Sept - DHB to step in over Auckland testing
The Auckland District Health Board is to take control of the quality and safety aspects of the region's new community laboratory service. The intervention comes five weeks after Labtests' handover from the former provider Diagnostic Medlab. Since the launch of Labtests' service concerns have been raised by patients, medical professionals, the Ministry of Health and the Disability Commissioner. From Monday a team of six health officials will oversee the quality and safety aspects of the service

13th Sept - Labtests - DHBs step in

13th Sept - Labtests given ultimatum

13th Sept - Auckland DHBs to control aspects of new lab service

12th Sept - Executives called to urgent meeting over lab problems

12th Sept - Labtests bosses to be given warning

12th Sept - Labtests' latest balls up – woman gets wrong results

12th Sept - Labtest head apologises for mistakes

12th Sept - Health board steps in to help struggling Labtests

12th Sept - Labtests called to meeting

11th Sept - Labtests: the results are still pending

11th Sept - Company admits 'issues' but defends quality of service

11th Sept - 'We expected hiccups but not to this extent'

11th Sept - Doctors lay into Labtests' poor service

11th Sept - Labtests' patients at risk, says health watchdog

11th Sept - Ryall urged to investigate Labtests delays

11th Sept - Minister urged to fix Auck's lab problems

10th Sept - Doctors to be given direct access to lab specialists

10th Sept - Ryall prods DHBs on lab tests

10th Sept - Medical Association slams Labtests' service

9th Sept - Temperatures rising over Labtests

9th Sept - Medical Association unhappy with lab changeover

9th Sept - Assurances from Labtests

8th Sept - Labtests CEO Denies Subsidy Scheme Is Helping As Company Finds Its Feet

8th Sept - Money for poor cuts load on Labtests

8th Sept - Lab test transition unacceptable – Medical Association

8th Sept - NZMA expresses serious concern over laboratory situation

8th Sept - Lab complaints made to Health & Disability Commissioner

7th Sept - Doctors unhappy with Labtests' service

7th Sept - Bad blood over blood
GPs and their patients have become the meat in the sandwich of the fight over Auckland's new laboratory service. Diagnostic Medlab lost the lucrative Auckland Hospital laboratory contracts to Labtests, and chief executive Arthur Morris says "it's not the same service". But the chief executive of the other Aussie lab which won the contract, Ulf Lindskog from Labtests, says the new service is "really good"

7th Sept - Lab company boosts staff to cope with calls

7th Sept - Losing lab turns camera on rival

6th Sept - New community lab takes over in Waitemata

5th Sept - Stall last Labtests switch, say GPs

2nd Sept - Long-Awaited Lab Contract Transition in New Zealand Happens Next Monday

31st Aug - Doctor waits 16 days for cancer patient's lab test results

30th Aug - DHBs told of long wait for blood tests

30th Aug - Cancer patient criticises new lab test provider

29th Aug - New Zealand’s Health System Walks Pathology/Lab Testing Tightrope

28th Aug - Editorial: Time to move on from lost tests contract

25th Aug - Patients make do with sub-par service as lab spat continues

25th Aug - Camera crew at lab worries health boards

24th Aug - Losing lab hires film crew to spy on rival

24th Aug - Lab company sends film crew to rival testing centres

24th Aug - Lab battle continues as film crew hired

23rd Aug - Labtests opens bases in central suburbs today

21st Aug - DML database smokescreen for Labtests' delays
Suggestions that lengthy patient queues in Labtests’ collection centres are caused by Labtests not getting the Diagnostic Medlab (DML) doctor database are nothing more than a smokescreen for poor performance, says the chief executive of DML, Arthur Morris. “Lengthy delays in Labtests’ collection centres have nothing to do with our database. Labtests hasn’t invested the time and money into getting their own database up and running – something they’ve had three years to get right”

21st Aug - Row erupts over tests

20th Aug - Auckland loses phlebotomist with 37 years experience    It’s the end of an era for Diagnostic Medlab phlebotomist Cyndi Smith, who has been taking patients’ test samples at the company’s Hillsborough collection rooms for 37 years. Cyndi says the closure of the Hillsborough rooms will make life difficult for many locals, with no replacement in the immediate area.

20th Aug - Labtests ready for Auckland transition on Monday

17th Aug - Push by new firm to grab fierce rival's cancer work

17th Aug - Labtests opens bases in central suburbs today

13th Aug - New lab fails Val's test

13th Aug - Labtests speeds up its testing service

13th Aug - Friends set on new path

12th Aug - Long waits for blood tests anger patients

11th Aug - Only minor glitches to date in lab change over

10th Aug - Labtests begins servicing patients

10th Aug - Labtests started providing services today

10th Aug - Patients give Labtests the thumbs-up on go-live day

9th Aug - New provider starts medical testing in Auckland

9th Aug - First health district switches to Labtests

6th Aug - Diagnostic Medlab Still To Have Presence In Auckland

29th Jul - MP sees red at lack of testing labs

3rd Jul - Labtests to operate 25 fewer blood collection centres

26th Jun - Testing time for staff

23rd Jun - Labtests takeover to start month early

23rd Jun - Lab test transition to be in stages

22nd Jun - Diagnostic Medlab to continue a service in Auckland

21st Jun - Auckland Region DHBs announce transition dates for Labtests

18th Jun - Laboratories to relocate four jobs from SCL in Dunedin to Auckland

13th Jun - Decision on lab tests unlikely soon

11th Jun - Testing of Labtests courier network now underway

8th Jun - Labtests 'ahead of takeover schedule'

21st May - Labtests: Questions being commonly asked by Auckland practices

20th May - Labtests transition details kept secret
The Herald sought from Auckland's three district health boards a copy of Labtests Auckland's implementation plan and milestone dates, detailing how it will take over medical testing for Auckland's 1.3 million people. The board's laboratory project director, Tim Wood, "reluctantly" declined the request, made under the Official Information Act, on grounds that publishing the material was likely to prejudice Labtests commercially. Susan Turner, chief executive of Harbour Health, a primary health organisation, has also sought the implementation plan. It should be made public, she said, because the transition was so important and raised many questions, particularly about the risks involved.

21st Apr - Quality medical laboratory services at risk
Changes are needed in how district health boards contract with Diagnostic medical laboratories, to ensure quality of services are retained, say the NZ Association of Pathology Practices. Contracting arrangements under DHBs have been disruptive and unsettling for laboratories, says NZAPP Chair Dr Paul Ockelford. "There is no national pathology framework to encourage consistent service standards. Having to deal individually with 21 DHBs is very complex and works against a stable and sustainable laboratory service. We strongly believe one national policy is required."

14th Apr - Upset, anger and frustration over lab row
The Auckland community lab services consultation attracted strong feelings of upset, anger and frustration at Labtests taking over the contract and the tendering process. The results of public consultation on the Auckland community labs contract, which ran between September and November 2008, were publicly released last week. As part of the 2007 High Court judicial review, triggered by incumbent laboratory provider Diagnostic MedLab after the contract was awarded to new provider Labtests, the DHBs were ordered to undertake consultation. The purpose of the consultation process was to inform the development of a long term purchasing plan for the Auckland region DHBs. Fresh after this development, comments about the tendering process such as “[it’s] not credible; it’s a sham” were made at GP forums

9th Apr - Read the results of the DHB consultation here

9th Apr - Community laboratory testing consultation report released    A media release from the Auckland Regional District Health Boards (ARDHBs) says they have concluded the consultation process regarding community laboratory testing services in the Auckland region. In sum, 4,400 surveys, 8,000 emails and 33 letters were received from stakeholder organisations and individuals. In addition the following public meetings were held: · Three patient focus groups; · Two GP forums; · Meetings with PHO Chief Executives; · 24 public meetings; · Three meetings with the Chinese, Indian and Korean communities; · Three meetings with Council Community Boards

9th Apr - Public says no to change of lab group
The public have delivered a thumbs-down to the switch to a new community laboratory company in Auckland, surveys suggest. More than 4000 people responded to a survey on laboratory services as part of an exercise by the region's three health boards to consult stakeholders and the public. Of 1200 who responded to questions of whether there should be one – or more – community laboratory providers, many criticised the DHBs' dumping of incumbent contractor Diagnostic Medlab (DML) in favour of tender winner Labtests Auckland. The switchover will occur in September. "This generated considerable, and in some cases heated, feedback," said a 112-page report on the consultation findings

9th Apr - MoH Seeks Review As DHBs Bail On Paying Laboratory Costs     Health Ministry officials want a formal review of moves by three district health boards – Hutt Valley, Capital and Coast, and Tairawhiti – to stop paying for laboratory tests ordered by private-sector specialists. The Minister of Health Tony Ryall has placed a moratorium on any similar moves by other DHBs until the review has checked cost, benefits, and impact on patients in both the public and private sectors. Historically, all community laboratory testing has been publicly funded regardless of whether the tests were referred by private or public specialists. But Hutt Valley and Capital and Coast DHBs have refused since November 2006 to pay for tests referred by private specialists, other than those referred by midwives or doctors belonging to primary health organisations

7th Apr - Your Views: Is switching from Diagnostic Medlab to Labtests Auckland a good idea?    An Auckland pathologist says: "Is switching from Diagnostic Medlab to Labtests Auckland a good idea? Absolutely not. Why? The proof is in the pudding. Only 5 months to go till D-Day (September 7th, 2009) and Labtests have already failed to meet their Recruitment Timeline goals for March 2009: Head of Departments - Final positions (Not filled), Section Heads - All departments (Not filled), Scientific Staff - All departments (Not filled), Technical Staff - All departments (Not filled)"

7th Apr - Lab switch vote tally reveals split
The Auckland District Health Board was divided 7:4 when it voted behind closed doors over the next step in switching to a new community laboratory provider on September 7. Chairman Pat Snedden said, "I think the vote reflected a degree of unease about the fact a new board had picked up this process from previous boards. For those of us who had been on previous boards, we were clear about the direction of travel. For new board members this was a fairly large decision to have to be made and it reflected a nervousness about it." Brian Fergus, an elected member, said he opposed the notice because he had "always had doubts about the process and the outcome" of the community laboratory tendering

2nd Apr - Former DHB head says "Two medical testing providers may have been better"    A former DHB chief executive who voted in favour of a new medical testing provider for Auckland says it would probably have been better to allow two providers to operate simultaneously. Former Waitemata District Health Board chief executive Dwayne Crombie says that, in hindsight, there probably should not have been a winner-takes-all approach to awarding the contract, and that awarding three-quarters of the work to the winning tenderer and the remaining quarter to the losing bidder might have worked better

Apparently someone complained about Dr Crombie's public declaration; 3 days later, that story was removed and replaced by this one:

5th Apr - Medical testing lab prepares to take over Auckland contract    Medical laboratory workers say Auckland's district health boards have assumed laboratory staff will move jobs to a new provider of community medical testing in Auckland, but that may not happen. Medical Lab Workers Union spokesperson Bryan Raill says that would pose problems, because there is no way to ship the work around the country, so the tests must be done in Auckland. NZ Medical Association chairperson Peter Foley says his group has no view about which firm should provide the services, but believes the process used to select a successful tender was flawed: "It's very important not to have only one provider and Auckland will be in trouble when it again puts the work up for tender in a few years time."

2nd Apr - Pathologists say lab tendering is making staff shortage worse    Uncertainty in laboratories caused by tendering such as the Labtests Auckland contract has made the pathologist shortage worse, says Dr Debra Graves, chief executive of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. It appears there has been no reduction in the crisis in New Zealand pathology since the college's last two-yearly workforce survey in 2007

23rd Mar - PHOs say legal action worth it
Harbour Health believes the costs and time involved in contesting the Auckland labs contract decision were worth it, even though the Appeal Court supported the Auckland regional DHBs’ process in awarding the contract. Harbour Health led representation of PHOs at the 2007 judicial review in arguing the DHBs neglected their duty to consult with general practices and PHOs on proposed changes to lab services before awarding the contract to Labtests

16th Mar - Brian Rudman: Stop moaning, DML
It's nearly three years since Diagnostic Medlab was beaten in the contest to provide community medical laboratory services for Aucklanders. The winning bid, from Australian newcomer Labtests Auckland, promised to do the job for more than $15 million a year less than its rival. It was an offer too good for Auckland's public health authorities to turn down

13th Mar - Health Minister under pressure to step in on lab testing    Health Minister Tony Ryall is coming under increasing pressure to change the way the state finances community laboratory testing, because of the risks and economic costs of the huge change soon to hit Auckland. The College of Pathologists said it would ask Mr Ryall to halt the tendering of laboratory contracts because the practice had destabilised a sector already suffering from a shortage of pathologists. The instability was likely to drive more overseas where they were in high demand

12th Mar - Labtests backs off collections from GPs
Labtests Auckland has given up its controversial plan for a big increase in the collection of blood samples at GP clinics and has reverted to the existing model used by DML of most samples being taken at the community lab service's collection rooms. But GPs are still anxious, despite assurances, whether the new company can maintain test turnaround times and access to pathologists to discuss results. DML has the equivalent of 225 fulltime collection staff. In 2006, Labtests said it planned to have 161. DML has 80 collection rooms, and Labtests plans to have 53

12th Mar - Minister can't intervene in "train crash", worried doctors told    Health Minister Tony Ryall says he is unable to intervene in the Auckland laboratory testing contract. Medical groups have trooped through his office expressing grave concerns about the switch from Diagnostic Medlab (DML) to Labtests. Pakuranga GP Dr Henry Doerr said yesterday he and at least a dozen colleagues had written to Mr Ryall asking him to cancel Labtests' contract in favour of staying with DML. "When you see a train crash coming, you want to do something about it."

11th Mar - Ousted lab refuses to help rival find staff
Auckland's dumped community laboratory provider has rejected an appeal to help its replacement hire staff. DML chief executive Arthur Morris said yesterday that the Auckland DHBs "wanted facilitated access to our staff and access to the collection network. The suggestion was made that they [our staff] might be able to have laboratory tours at the Labtests site to get familiar with Labtests and what they are about. Our response was they have plenty of avenues to recruit staff on the web and in newspapers etc, and Labtests would have to rely on that." It is not clear why the ARDHBs think that the ousted company should be responsible for assisting the company which received the contract with their hiring efforts

10th Mar - Labtests project 'a unique experiment'
Kristine Bailey, a Canadian laboratory management and start-up expert, says she was "phenomenally amazed" Auckland's three DHBs had proceeded with replacing a high-quality provider with a newcomer. "I have never heard of any new large laboratory being started up from scratch inside a year, let alone one that would be required to handle the volume of testing that DML currently processes, 30,000 to 35,000 tests per day. I am not aware that any such project has ever been attempted elsewhere in the world. The effect of this decision is to run an experiment on a very large scale with the population of Auckland. The world's pathology community is watching it closely."

6th Mar - ARDHBs to end Diagnostic Medlab contract
The Auckland Regional District Health Boards have given Diagnostic Medlab Ltd (DML) notice of termination for its Auckland community laboratory testing contract. DML’s $72 million per year contract will come to an end on 6 September 2009

5th Mar - Lab firm to slash pathologist numbers
The winner of Auckland's long-running community blood-testing row plans to cut the number of pathologists by more than a quarter [of the current number]. Labtests Auckland spokesman Peter Fitzgerald said last night the company intended to employ 17.2 fulltime-equivalent pathologists when it took over the region's community laboratory services from Diagnostic Medlab, possibly in August. DML chief executive Arthur Morris said that after excluding work for the breast and cervical cancer screening programmes, which were not part of the community contract, he employed around 24 fulltime equivalent pathologists

5th Mar - 'War of words' ends in change of heart
A former consultant pathologist has been appointed medical director of Labtests three years after vowing never work for the company. Dr Richard Lloydd was previously employed by Diagnostic Medlab which after a protracted legal battle lost the multi-million dollar contract to Australian-based Labtests to take over Auckland's laboratory testing for the next eight years. In 2006 Dr Lloydd was involved in a war of words with his former colleague Tony Bierre who had been appointed Labtests' chief executive officer

5th Mar - Dr Richard Lloydd appointed as Labtests director
Senior Auckland Pathologist, Dr Richard Lloydd has been appointed as the Medical Director for Labtests. Dr Lloydd will join Labtests from his current role as a senior Anatomical Pathologist at Diagnostic Medlab (DML) where he has worked for over eight years. As Medical Director, Dr Lloydd will lead Labtests pathologists and scientific staff and will have a vital role working with Auckland clinicians, specialists and PHO’s

27th Feb - Laboratory row may not be over
The medical laboratory which lost a multi-million dollar contract with three Auckland district health boards, says the row may not be over. DML chief executive Dr Arthur Morris said Lab Tests had not recruited many staff and only one DML staff member had left to go to Lab Tests. He said DML had 300 staff at its laboratory and Lab Test would need at least that many to provide a similar service. "They have already said they are going to have significantly fewer in collections and that is the bone of contention with primary health care providers who say that is not going to be enough and we would agree with that," Morris said

12th Feb - Supreme Court ends laboratory testing saga
The bad blood over Auckland laboratory testing operation could be over, with the Supreme Court ruling in favour of new operator Labtests over Diagnostic Medlab. And while the battle between the two companies is over, not everyone is celebrating. "Overall what it means is a complete reduction in services in the workforce and in the collection centres," says Harbour Health's Susan Turner. Many Aucklanders are worried about how far they will now have to travel to get a blood test, and Labtests admits that taking over will not be easy

12th Nov - NZMA calls for pathology service concerns to be addressed    Today’s ending of legal action concerning Auckland’s half billion dollar laboratory service raises concerning questions about how the whole process was handled. "The NZMA has major and ongoing concerns about how laboratory reviews and contracting processes have been carried out nationally,” said Chair Dr Peter Foley. “The flawed system of reviews and the contracting approach in Auckland have created confusion and difficulties for an already fragile workforce. We are extremely concerned that many good pathology and other laboratory staff may now choose to leave New Zealand to look for work."

12th Feb - Lab services case fallout continues
The battle over Auckland's multi-million blood collection business may be over but the stench of uncertainty still lingers for the losing laboratory's staff and the thousands of patients they service each day. The Supreme Court yesterday tossed out an application by Diagnostic Medlab to appeal a High Court decision effectively ending its 30-year contract with Auckland's district health boards. "I feel devastated for the staff,'' Diagnostic Medlab chief executive Arthur Morris said. Despite the two-year rollercoaster ride they have been on, its 700 staff had continued to turn up at work every day and do the best job they could to look after the 10,000 patients a day specimens were collected from, he said

12th Feb - Diagnostic Medlab's future unclear
Diagnostic Medlab has reached the end of the road in its bid to win back the contract for lab testing in Auckland. The Supreme Court has decided not to allow it to appeal an earlier decision, which cleared the way for Labtests to take over testing services. Diagnostic Medlab chief executive Arthur Morris says he is disappointed with the ruling, but the company will have to accept it. "It's been a significant battle and people's careers and livelihoods have been in the balance, so that's been a particularly trying time for our staff." Dr Morris does not yet know what is next for the company. He says a meeting with the DHBs is likely to be held next week and he cannot speculate until it is held. He expects the transition process will be discussed

12th Feb - Lab services legal bill will cost millions
The loser in the protracted 2½ year legal row over the laboratory contracts issued by Auckland's three district health boards, said the ruling left a huge question hanging over the heads of hundreds of staff working in 80 collection centres and laboratories. The chief executive of Harbour Health on Auckland's North Shore, Susan Turner, said she was "deeply concerned and hugely disappointed" at the ruling. She said the new judgment effectively changed the law and set a precedent which had serious downstream implications. "Under this ruling, there will be limited ways to influence any contractual matters or how these services are to be delivered or by whom. This is untenable for PHOs and the public they serve. Worst of all it could seriously impact on doctors' ability to deliver and ensure access to quality health care services for their communities. There is a danger of contracts being awarded on a cost basis instead of on a quality basis or for the best health outcomes."

11th Feb - Labtests welcomes Supreme Court decision on Community Pathology contract    Labtests today welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to deny leave for a further appeal to Diagnostic Medlab (DML), which failed to win the contract in 2006 after the Auckland region’s three District Health Boards (DHB’s) put the contract out to tender. In September 2008, the Court of Appeal found in favour of Healthscope owned Labtests on all counts reinstating Labtests eight-year contract with the DHB’s and ruling that Labtests should take over as the region’s community pathology service “as soon as can reasonably be achieved.”

11th Feb - Court declines to hear laboratory fight appeal
The battle for Auckland's $560 million community laboratory contract has ended with the Supreme Court declining to hear an appeal by ousted operator Diagnostic Medlab. Diagnostic Medlab's (DML) hold on the contract was successfully challenged in the Court of Appeal last year by Lab Tests, now owned by Healthscope. Lab Tests won the original tender from the Auckland region district health boards for the eight-year contract, but DML successfully challenged the decision in the High Court. DML claimed, and the High Court agreed, there was an improper use of insider information by former Lab Tests' boss Tony Bierre before he resigned from the Auckland District Health Board. The High Court also ruled the three Auckland DHBs did not consult widely enough. But the Court of Appeal overturned all of that in September, saying the health boards did consult properly and Dr Bierre acted appropriately once his conflict of interest arose

11th Feb - Labtests finally secures $560m DHB contract, three years on    After nearly three years of legal wrangling, Labtests has got its hands on the $560 million Auckland community laboratory contract that it originally won at tender. An appeal to the Supreme Court from Diagnostic Medlab (DML) to have a Court of Appeal judgment, which support Labtests right to the contract overturned, has been dismissed. This effectively ends all DML's hopes of winning back the contract. And management at Labtests parent company Healthscope are suitably happy. The case has gone through a succession of twist and turns since the sizeable tender was awarded to Labtests in July 2006 rather than incumbent provider Diagnostic Medlabs

11th Feb - Appeal bid denied in labtests case
The Supreme Court has denied an appeal by Diagnostic Medlab to overturn a decision that handed a $560 million contract for Auckland community laboratory testing to a rival company. The decision, released this morning, is the latest step in a long-running saga that at one stage saw former Prime Minister Helen Clark sued for defamation after she questioned the decision to give the highly sought after contract to Labtests Ltd

18th Nov - Appointment of new health minister welcomed
“As we do with all political parties, we have concerns about some aspects of National’s health policy. These include the way in which DHBs might use the private sector. It is important that this is not done in a way which risks undermining the capacity of public hospitals to provide quality services. Further, we question transferring funding and planning functions of DHBs to regional bodies because it risks creating bureaucratic confusion and fragmentation

10th Nov - Defamation suit against Clark
Dr Tony Bierre, an Auckland pathologist, a former member of the Auckland District Health Board, and the former chief executive of Labtests Auckland Ltd – the subject of a disputed contract awarded for lab services – says Miss Clark made untrue allegations of criminal conduct against him in March and these have damaged his reputation

10th Nov - Defamation proceedings filed against Helen Clark
A former Auckland District Health Board member has filed defamation proceedings against Helen Clark. Dr Tony Bierre claims the outgoing Prime Minister made allegations of criminal conduct against him in March this year. The comments related to Labtests Auckland's tender for community laboratory testing in Auckland, which is still the subject of an appeal

10th Nov - Former PM Clark faces defamation action over Labtests row    Two days after losing the election outgoing Prime Minister Helen Clark is being sued for defamation over comments she made on the Auckland District Health Board laboratories row. Former Auckland District Health Board member Tony Bierre has launched the defamation suit in relation to comments Miss Clark made in March questioning whether he had broken the law by misleading the DHB over a controversial laboratory contract

25th Oct - Lab battle back to court
Diagnostic Medlab (DML) won a High Court ruling last year after it lost the tendering process for the eight-year contract, but that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal last month when it returned the contract to Labtests, now owned by Healthscope. Yesterday, DML chief executive Arthur Morris confirmed the company would seek a further appeal. DML has another month to file formal submissions and does not expect to learn until late December or January whether the court will take the case

23rd Oct - Supreme Court ruling sought on lab contract
The ousted operator of medical labs in Auckland is to ask the Supreme Court to rule on who should have the $560 million contract. The Court of Appeal in September took the contract away from DML and returned it to Labtests Auckland, owned by Australian company Healthscope. Thursday is the deadline for DML to seek a further appeal and chief executive Arthur Morris confirms it will do so. DML has another month to file formal submissions and does not expect to learn until late December or January whether the court will take the case

20th Oct - Moratorium and review of lab test charges welcomed    National’s call for a moratorium on new laboratory test charges and an independent review has been welcomed by the Health Funds Association (HFANZ). The three Auckland DHBs are currently consulting the public on a controversial proposal to cut funding for lab tests referred by private specialists. The proposal has been hotly contested in other parts of the country, with some South Island DHBs backing off after 75% of submissions opposed the move. The move would see more than $5 million charged to Auckland patients, with some individuals having to pay in excess of $2000 for tests.

17th Oct - Lab contract under scrutiny
A multi-million dollar laboratory services contract awarded by the Taranaki District Health Board is under investigation by the Auditor-General. The Taranaki laboratory services complaint is just one of several around the country to challenge the methods district health boards have used to decide on the lucrative laboratory contracts. Auckland, Hawke's Bay and Waikato have all been embroiled in controversy. In Taranaki, the Auditor-General has looked into two issues - whether there had been a conflict of interest as a result of Medlab Taranaki director Bert White also holding the role of TDHB chief medical officer and the lack of a competitive tender when the contracts were let.

11th Oct - Kiwis with health insurance pay more for lab tests
New Zealanders with health insurance are being asked to fork out more money in some parts of the country. Wellington patients already pay for lab tests ordered by private specialists, Otago and Southland will introduce the fee next year, and Auckland is considering it. But doctors and insurers believe the extra fee is unfair. When people get health insurance, they are taking responsibility for their health. But they are also doing society a favour by lightening the load on the public health system.

6th Oct - Auckland DHBs Laboratory Services Consultation
Make your submission to the Auckland DHBs here on how their proposed lab service changes – including making patients cover the full cost of tests ordered by specialists – will affect you

6th Oct - Brian Rudman: DHBs' secret intrigues enough to make you sick     Talk about sneaky. While the rest of us are trying to focus on the handouts being promised by our national politicians, the Auckland health boards have chosen this month to hold a secretive "consultation" process on the merits of, among other things, charging private patients for laboratory tests. I say secretive, because you'll only discover the exercise is under way if you visit the websites of the Auckland, Waitemata or Counties Manukau health boards... What really bugs me is the implication that private patients are not taxpayers, and are bludging off mythical horny-handed toilers of the soil who are. Not only do we pay taxes, but by taxing ourselves additionally with health insurance payments, we're actually subsidising the taxpayer-funded health system we elect not to use.

2nd Oct - DHBs discuss contract with Lab Tests
Auckland's three district health boards have met with Labtests Auckland to discuss its takeover of community laboratory services in the region. The company has been awarded back the contract by the Court of Appeal, after a High Court ruling gave it to Diagnostic Medlab last year. It means Labtests Auckland will take over the service some time next year, pending DML's appeal to the Supreme Court.

1st Oct - Back to court for Medlab
Diagnostic Medlab, the current providers of lab testing, will seek leave from the country’s highest court to overturn last week’s Court of Appeal decision that handed back the contract to rivals Labtests Auckland. The Court of Appeal decision nullified a High Court review that last year found former Auckland District Health Board member Tony Bierre was inappropriately involved with Labtests Auckland. "We wish we didn’t have to go there," says Diagnostic Medlab chief executive Arthur Morris. But Healthscope may have gone to the Supreme Court themselves if the latest decision hadn’t gone in their way. "We’ve invested an enormous amount of money in New Zealand and we weren’t going to walk away," Healthscope director of strategy and business development Joe Czyzewski says.

29th Sept - Medical lab tests: who should pay?
FREE medical lab tests may soon be a thing of the past. The Auckland district health boards are worried about the costs, but are consulting their communities before they make a decision about charging private patients for the tests. Southern Cross Healthcare is urging the health boards to reassure Aucklanders they can have faith in the consultation process. Group Chief Executive, Dr Ian McPherson says there was a recent example of less-than-sincere consultation in the South Island. "Despite 75% of the submissions opposing the proposal to charge private patients for laboratory testing, only the South Canterbury District Health Board took any notice of the weight of public opinion and rejected the proposal to shift costs to private patients."

28th Sept - Wayne Brown calls for judge to go
Former Auckland District Health Board chairman Wayne Brown says the judge whose criticism led to calls for Brown's resignation over an apparently botched laboratory test contract should himself stand down. It was Judge Raynor Asher's original ruling which brought wrath on the head of Brown, his deputy Ross Keenan and Tony Bierre, the pathologist who was found to have conflicted interests in the awarding of the contract to Labtests Auckland.

26th Sept - Lab test fight could go to top court
Deal-making for Auckland's lucrative community laboratory service has been thrown into fresh turmoil by a Court of Appeal decision, but the case may go to the country's highest court. Three judges yesterday released their verdict upholding the appeal by the newcomer to the Auckland market, Labtests Auckland. This would allow the company to replace its rival, Diagnostic Medlab (DML), under a reinstated contract with the region's district health boards. But Medlab wants to take the case further."We will be applying for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court," said DML chief executive Arthur Morris.

26th Sept - Business as usual expected under new lab operator    District health boards in Auckland say patients will not notice any change when a new operator takes over all medical testing in the region. Labtests Auckland, which is owned by the pathology provider Healthscope, is to take over from Diagnostic Medlab Limited following a legal ruling. The Court of Appeal on Thursday overturned a judicial review by the High Court in March 2007 which resuled in the contract being returned to DML over a conflict of interest and lack of consultation.

25th Sept - DML considers next steps
Diagnostic Medlab is considering its next steps following the Appeal Court’s decision to overturn a High Court judgment concerning the awarding of a contract for the provision of community laboratory services for the Auckland region. "Naturally, we are disappointed with the Appeal Court decision," said DML's Chief Executive, Dr Arthur Morris. "While this is a setback, it is not the end of the matter. I know the decision will come as a blow to our loyal staff, the Auckland region's primary care community and their patients."

25th Sept - Response from Auckland Regional DHBs regarding Court of Appeal judgement    The Auckland regional District Health Boards say the Appeals court judgment has re-affirmed that the ARDHBs handled all processes appropriately and commercially and the contract has been restored. The interim contractual arrangements with DML anticipated this outcome. The ARDHBs is talking to the new and current provider Labtests Auckland to work out transitional arrangements.

25th Sept - Healthscope wins appeal for Auckland community pathology contract    Healthscope Limited owned Labtests Auckland has won its appeal to overturn a High Court ruling invalidating its $560 million eight-year contract to provide community pathology services to Auckland. Healthscope Managing Director, Bruce Dixon welcomed the Appeal Court decision saying Healthscope was selected to provide Auckland’s community pathology services based on its significant international experience and commitment to invest in a world-class service that would be more responsive, transparent and accountable to the region it serves.

25th Sept - Diagnostic Medlab to challenge ruling in Supreme Court    The battle to win the right to carry out blood tests on Aucklanders has entered a new phase. The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of an Australian-owned company, Labtests Auckland, overturning an earlier decision which found in favour of the incumbents, Diagnostic Medlab. Labtests Auckland might have won the latest battle, but the war is far from over. Diagnostic Medlab have told their staff they will take the fight all the way to the Supreme Court. "We've always painted the picture that this could be an outcome, but we've always told them that we're not going to give up, we are going to go until all avenues are exhausted," says Dr Arthur Morris.

25th Sept - Lab Tests handed back multi-million dollar lab-testing contract    The long-running battle for Auckland's half a billion dollar community laboratory contract has taken another twist with the Court of Appeal handing it back to Australian-owned rival Labtests Auckland. Incumbent provider Diagnostic Medlab (DML) won a High Court ruling last year after it lost the tendering process for the $560 million eight year contract. But that ruling has been tossed out. Labtests Auckland says there will be very little change for Auckland patients needing blood and other tests and it is confident it will have its entire operation up and running within nine months.

25th Sept - Court hands $560m Lab Tests contract back
Diagnostic Medlab says it wants to go to the Supreme Court to try to overturn a Court of Appeal decision handing the $560 million contract for Auckland community laboratory testing back to competitor Labtests Auckland. The Court of Appeal today quashed last year's High Court ruling that the decision of the Auckland Regional District Health Boards to hand the contract to Lab Tests ahead of Diagnostic Medlab Ltd (DML) was invalid. Court of Appeal Justices Terence Arnold, Ellen France and Grant Hammond ruled that Lab Tests take up the contract for the remainder of the contractual term, and that Diagnostic Medlab pay $48,000 costs to both Lab Tests and the ARDHBs, plus usual disbursements.

25th Sept - Court hands $560m lab contract back to Lab Tests
The Court of Appeal has handed back the $560 million contract for Auckland pathology testing to Lab Tests, overturning a High Court decision last year. The three Court of Appeal judges ruled today that Dr Bierre's conflict of interest was more limited than Justice Asher assessed and did not undermine the tendering process. They also ruled the obligation to consult the PHOs was not triggered in the circumstances.

23rd Sept - Community labs consultation starts in Auckland
Auckland’s three DHBs have again signalled a desire to contain their growing spend on community laboratory services and reconfigure the way these are delivered. This time the boards are at pains to provide full information on which the public can comment. The Auckland, Waitemata and Counties Manukau DHBs’ regional arm this week began an eight-week consultation on their community laboratory project.

22nd Sept - DHBS Must Reassure That Consultation Is Credible
Following today’s announcement of consultation around a proposal to charge private patients for laboratory tests, Southern Cross Healthcare is urging the Auckland, Counties Manukau and Waitemata DHBs to reassure Aucklanders that they can have faith in the process. "Consultation implies views will be listened to. That has certainly not been the case in other parts of the country where widespread opposition to charges for laboratory tests has been largely ignored. Should the Auckland Boards be so cavalier it would make a mockery of the consultation process and Aucklanders should rightly demand a reassurance that this isn’t just the Boards going through the motions on a pre-determined decision."

15th July - Lessons from Diagnostic Medlab v Auckland DHB
This case has lessons for those involved in advising and managing procurement in or in respect to the public sector as to: 1) Ensuring a legally fair process; 2) Management of conflicts of interest; 3) Management of private information in respect to third parties; 4) Consultation on change; and 5) Exposure of successful contractors to actions by aggrieved unsuccessful contractors.

9th July - Testing time not over
The future of medical lab testing in Auckland could be decided by the Supreme Court. That’s the view of Diagnostic Medlab chief executive Arthur Morris, whose company won a High Court review last year overturning the decision to award laboratory testing to another company. Medlab lost the contract to new provider Labtests Auckland in 2006. Both groups are now awaiting a Court of Appeal decision after Labtests Auckland decided to challenge the High Court’s findings.

9th July - Private funding may stop
Patients who see a private specialist could soon be dipping into their own pockets to pay for medical tests. Auckland District Health Board, along with the Waitemata and Counties Manukau boards, may stop funding for tests for private patients. Wellington district health boards Capital and Coast Health and Hutt Valley pulled funding for private tests in 2006. Southern Cross Healthcare chief executive Dr Ian McPherson says any change to the policy could see health insurance premiums go up.

7th July - SCDHB gives thumbs down to extra lab charges
Voting against the advice of its chief executive officer, the South Canterbury DHB has decided to continue funding private specialist-referred lab tests. At its board meeting last month, members voted against accepting chief executive officer Chris Fleming’s recommendations that the board tell the Ministry of Health these tests should cease to be publicly funded. Instead, the board has asked its management to inform the ministry that it does not support a proposal to charge for private specialist-referred lab tests. These tests will continue to be funded by the DHB in future.

27th June - Brian Rudman: Private patients pay tax too
"What does royally hack me off, though, is news that Auckland's district health boards are plotting to penalise me and the third of Aucklanders who are privately insured... They're saying that when my private specialist sends me for a lab test it's a discretionary act of self-indulgence for which I have to pay, but if I'm required to do the same test at the behest of a public hospital-based specialist, that would be a necessary – and thus free – procedure."

27th June - Editorial: Lab test fees idea unfair
Over the past two years, four health boards in Wellington and the South Island have acted. No longer do they pay for tests ordered by specialists for private patients. The practice is clearly inequitable but that has not deterred contemplation of it by Auckland's three district health boards, which have pointed in a public consultation document to its potential use.

25th June - Protest call by health insurer on lab-test bill
New Zealand's biggest health insurer has called for the 330,000 Aucklanders with health insurance to stand up and fight a possible lab-test cost shift. The stinging attack from Southern Cross came after the Herald revealed Auckland's three DHBs planned to publicly consult on scrapping public funding for private lab tests. The $5.6 million saving to the health boards would backfire, costing the region's private and public health users more in the long run, Southern Cross Healthcare Group chief executive Dr Ian McPherson said. The average lab-test claims for Southern Cross members were close to $90 per test.

25th June - $5.6m lab tests bill for Auckland private patients
Aucklanders treated by private specialists face having to pay for their own community laboratory tests – $5.6 million a year in total. Medical Association chairman Dr Peter Foley, whose organisation opposes the move, said yesterday it was ridiculous that the Government allowed individual boards to act differently on this issue, rather than establishing a national policy. "All this is, is transferring costs to patients. Patients go to specialists sometimes out of necessity because DHBs don't offer some services. It's no longer the realm of the rich."

17th June - SDHB to stop funding tests
The Southland District Health Board has joined the Otago board in deciding not to pay for laboratory tests ordered by specialists for private patients. At its meeting earlier this month, the Otago board, in a split vote, decided not to wait for a national policy on the matter. It expects to save about $1 million a year, and Southland $300,000, as a result.

16th June - DHBs differ in who will pay for lab tests
Policy over who will fund private specialist-referred lab tests is set to develop piecemeal around the country as South Island DHBs take different tacks. Southland has followed its neighbours, deciding last Thursday to stop paying for laboratory tests for the patients of private specialists. A week earlier, Otago DHB had gone against the recommendation of its chief executive agreeing to cease payment of private specialist-referred tests. However, on Friday, both the Canterbury and West Coast DHBs supported their chief executives' advice that the status quo remain, whereby the DHBs continue to fund the tests until policy calling for the cessation of public funding for these tests is implemented.

16th June - Patients’ health and wallets will suffer from lab test scheme    Patients will suffer as a result of the decision by the Otago and Southland District Health Boards to stop paying for laboratory tests ordered by private specialists, said HFANZ executive director Roger Styles today. He said the move had proved to be a failed exercise in cost-shifting in Wellington, where an evaluation in April had shown it had generated only half the DHB revenue expected since it was introduced in November 2006. “We know some patients have been hit with lab test bills of $1600 or more, including vulnerable cardiac patients,” he said. The Wellington DHBs’ report confirmed the average patient charge was $62 – six times the $10 claimed in consultation.

15th June - Creeping privatisation angers doctors
Senior doctors are unhappy at what they see as creeping privatisation in the health service. It comes as the Health Minister rubber stamps the involvement of a private firm with Lakes District Health Board. Ian Powell of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says it would have been reasonable for the DHB to have a contractual arrangement with a private provider instead. Powell says his Association is concerned the company will have unnecessary influence over a valuable hospital resource, especially as they will essentially be jointly managing the lab.

15th June - Lab Privatisation Disappointing And Short-Sighted
Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, says "The Minister has given too much weight to the predetermined position of the DHB and very little consideration to those who actually run the hospital laboratory. While some DHBs have short-sightedly privatised their hospital laboratories, the Minister should have considered the fact that most DHBs have not. He had options and he has exercised the wrong one."

15th June - All's not well in health care
A DHB's attempt to screw down pathology lab costs has erupted into a multimillion-dollar high court battle, with patients being denied proactive tests and GPs and pathologists at loggerheads. BOP DHB is suing its pathology services provider, Pathlab BOP, for more than $8 million, alleging it carried out tests that were ineligible for DHB funding. The health board also claims it was misled in the tendering process when it renewed Pathlab's contract in February 2007. Pathlab has lodged a counterclaim for $900,000 against the board, saying it failed to honour a promise to pay for private patient tests. Both sides accuse each other of fraud.

14th June - Insurance premiums at risk from test charges
Health insurance premiums will probably rise now a move to force private health users to pay for their own laboratory tests has been adopted by two more district health boards. Otago and Southland's DHBs have voted to stop paying for any tests ordered by specialists for private patients. The majority of the tests cost between $10 and $500, although some can cost up to $2000. Many operations require multiple tests.

14th June - Funding cut for private lab tests SDHS tightens belt
Private patients will soon have to fund their own laboratory tests after the Southland DHB yesterday voted to pull funding to cut costs. Interim chief executive Brian Rousseau has been leading the consultation process, which has had a bumpy reception from specialists and insurers, who say it could wind up costing patients and health providers at least twice that. Of the 301 submissions (28 from Southland and 54 from Otago), 230 (76 percent) stated public funds should pay for tests from private specialists, hospitals and clinics. Despite most submittors opposing the proposal, the Southland DHB voted to stop funding subject to it approving a management implementation plan with a date for it to cease. It also called for the Health Ministry to support a policy decision applicable to all DHBs.

11th June - DHB may stop paying for private lab tests
Otago DHB chairman Richard Thomson says in a split vote, the board has decided to ask management to return with an implementation plan and a date for payment to cease. He says discontinuing the funding would mean an extra $1 million a year would go into public services rather than private sector services. Mr Thomson expects the decision to be met with some resistance but he says the board's priority is to work towards sustaining a public health service for those who have no other health care alternative.

15th May - Closing arguments heard in lab contract appeal
Healthscope denies that Labtests Auckland founder Tony Bierre joined the Auckland DHB in 2004 as part of a plan to form a big corporate laboratory service

15th May - Decision reserved in pathology appeal
The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision on an appeal by Lab Tests New Zealand against a High Court ruling annulling its $560 million contract for Auckland pathology services due to conflict of interest

15th May - Labtests Auckland decision reserved
The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision in the Auckland community laboratories case, where Labtests Auckland is challenging a High Court ruling that set side its $560 million contract to provide laboratory services for three Auckland district health boards

14th May - PHO affirms need for lab testing contract consultation
Auckland GPs would have waited longer for laboratory test results while having to collect up to 50 per cent of total samples, had DHBs gone ahead with the 2006 contract they negotiated with new provider Lab Tests, according to the PHO representing GPs in an appeal

12th May - DML questions ADHB contracting integrity
Diagnostic Medlab has told the Court of Appeal that Auckland regional DHBs’ decision over the $560 million community lab testing contract was correctly subjected to judicial review because the tendering process lacked integrity

9th May - Auckland DHBs criticise Tony Bierre
Auckland DHBs criticised former Lab Tests director Tony Bierre for not adequately disclosing the extent of his conflict of interest after his 2004 election to Auckland DHB in the Court of Appeal hearing this week

9th May - Diagnostic Medlab defends judgment
DML endorsed last year’s judicial review, which overturned Auckland regional DHBs’ contract with newcomer Labtests Auckland in the Court of Appeal in Wellington yesterday and today

9th May - DML questions contract integrity
Counsel for incumbent provider Diagnostic Medlab says the DHBs lacked integrity in their exercise of public power and that is a form of corruption, since Labtests Auckland CEO Tony Bierre’s inside information as an ADHB member gave him an unfair advantage in the tendering process

8th May - Appeal over Auckland laboratory contract continues
The Court of Appeal has been told Auckland region district health boards failed to prevent serious ethical problems with a multi-million dollar contract and a wider legal challenge was needed

8th May - Labtests Auckland appeals judicial review
In the Court of Appeal in Wellington yesterday, Healthscope disputed Justice Asher’s ruling that former Labtests Auckland director Tony Bierre had a conflict of interest and that there was a need for consultation

7th May - ADHBs present arguments in Labtests wrangle
The Auckland District Health Boards have argued in the Court of Appeal that a landmark decision over community laboratory testing will leave them vulnerable to attack in the future

5th May - Fight for Auckland pathology contract moves south
Australian-owned Labtests Auckland went to the Court of Appeal in Wellington today in its bid to win back its $560 million contract for Auckland's pathology services. Labtests Auckland, owned by Australian listed company Healthscope, is appealing at High Court ruling last year which invalidated its eight-year contract with the Auckland, Waitemata and Counties-Manukau district health boards. The pathology services are being carried out by long-term provider Diagnostic Medlab, also Australian-owned, in an interim arrangement that runs out in December.

23rd Apr - DHBs deem cost-shifting lab charges a 'success'
Wellington DHBs’ new lab test charging regime has cost patients six times more than expected and accrued less savings than predicted. The DHBs originally predicted that patients would pay on average $10; instead the average has been $62, with one patient having to pay $1,660. GPs say patients who have decided not to have tests because of the cost have been placed at risk of harm

22nd Apr - Warning over lab test expense
Southern Cross Healthcare says patients are paying an average of $92 a year for lab tests – nine times what was predicted by Capital and Coast when it introduced the scheme – and if more DHBs adopt the practice, people who are already struggling to pay their health insurance premiums will face even higher costs – or end up uninsured

22nd Apr - Rod Emmerson: Our current medical crisis

21st Apr - DHBs' solution to pathologist crisis is to make pathology unattractive as a choice of profession    DHBNZ proposes filling pathologist vacancies with lesser-qualified, non-medical specialist scientists, thus making clinical pathology an undesirable career path for physicians

18th Apr - Lab test charges scheme ‘failed exercise in cost-shifting’
The Health Funds Association of NZ says putting the burden of lab testing costs on patients has increased total health costs for New Zealanders, with little direct saving for the DHBs concerned, and is an exercise in ideology rather than sound health policy

7th Apr - Health Minister supports more government control of DHBs    Health Minister David Cunliffe says there is a need for more central control of District Health Boards. Speaking on TVNZ’s “Agenda” today, he also hinted that mergers between boards happen 'over time'

1st Apr - NZRDA: Costly recruitment drives not the answer
Millions of dollars are being pumped into recruitment drives for overseas doctors when they could be spent raising incumbent doctors' salaries, the New Zealand Resident Doctors Association (NZRDA) says. Southland DHB claims the recruitment drive has resulted in 28 senior doctors and many more junior doctors coming to Southland – but it is believed that many of those positions have actually been filled by locums, temporary physicians who make 3 to 4 times what permanent physicians are paid

29th Mar - Wooing doctors costs SDHB $1.6 million
Health service providers and clinicians are welcoming moves to make the national body set up to represent DHBs, a "secretive" taxpayer-funded organisation, more accountable to the public

25th Mar - DHBs send more cases to private hospitals
Staff shortages, a lack of theatre space, strikes and increased elective surgery mean district health boards had to contract out thousands more non-urgent procedures – both surgery and diagnostic tests – to the private sector in 2006-07

5th Mar - MP: Doctors switching to locums threatens workforce
MP Sue Kedgley says she is concerned to learn that 20 percent of the doctor workforce at the Southland District Health Board are short-term locums, for which the SDHB is paying a 25 percent premium. Kedgley adds that in addition to the fact that locums are more expensive, when doctors are constantly coming and going there is no continuity of care, making it easy for patient safety issues to emerge – posing a serious challenge to the viability of the health service

3rd Aug - Former DHB head: Money will not solve DHB troubles
Dwayne Crombie, a former DHB leader, says there are too many District Health Boards and throwing money at them will not solve the problems in the health sector

2nd Mar - Call for re-think of district health board system
In recent months, three troubled hospitals have lurched from crisis to crisis, prompting harsh criticism over New Zealand's system of 21 district health boards. Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson is leading the charge, again highlighting the need for more collaboration between DHBs in his report released last week

22nd Jan - Editorial: Answers needed on healthcare
The Labour-led Government likes to boast about its markedly increased public health spending since 1999. Nonetheless, the public health sector possesses an insatiable maw that devours $11.3 billion a year, yet still fails to deliver what people believe they are entitled to. Early last year, Treasury investigated whether Kiwis were getting value for money from district health board spending. Although typically wrapped in caveats, the report found, for example, that though hospital expenditure in 2003-04 was 13.4 per cent higher than three years earlier, hospital efficiency seemed to have fallen

11th Jan - Winter doctor crisis looms
Hospitals in Auckland are headed for another winter of discontent, with one in 10 junior doctor positions vacant – and that is expected to worsen to 14 percent by August. Last year, one in five house officer positions went unfilled

16th Dec - Opinion: Use health taxes to actually treat people
Right now the public health system employs 10,000 hospital managers, and that excludes 1,250 in the Ministry of Health and goodness-knows-how-many in public health organisations. By my calculations, that's roughly one hospital manager for every 400 New Zealanders and that is sick. At Wellington Hospital they came up with a plan – axe 50 doctor

3rd Aug - Demands made to open DHBNZ to scrutiny
Health service providers and clinicians are welcoming moves to make the national body set up to represent DHBs, a "secretive" taxpayer-funded organisation, more accountable to the public

16th Jan - Medlab stays alive in region with contracts
Medlab's reign in the Waikato is set to continue after it secured several new contracts. Outgoing general manager Steve Soufflot said the new premises in Hamilton East will focus on testing areas not funded by the Waikato District Health Board. Those areas include cervical screening, employment, immigration and insurance testing, drug screening, allergy desensitisation, research studies and educational programmes for various staff

14th Jan - Pathlab opens in Waikato with "top gear"
The laboratory was awarded the lucrative Waikato blood testing contract by the district's health board last year and takes over services formerly provided by Medlab. Operating out of new premises on Tristram St, Pathlab boasts the country's leading technology, with a new automated blood testing machine The Track. It can process 450 samples an hour and complete 30,000 tests per day, with a new test result every six seconds. Pathlab director Stephen May said about 100 former Medlab staff gained jobs with the new contract holder. The remaining 120 Medlab staff either took redundancy or opted for new ventures

26th Dec - $100,000 recruiting cost for each doctor
District health boards are paying up to $100,000 to recruit senior doctors and are advertising on TradeMe as the shortage of experienced medical staff continues to bite. The NZ Resident Doctors' Association last week highlighted the difficulties in attracting and retaining doctors and the much higher salaries in Australia. Statistics to June 1 this year showed a fifth-year registrar in New South Wales earned $116,200NZ, compared to $66,200NZ in New Zealand. A fourth-year house officer earned about $82,510NZ in New South Wales and $57,400NZ in New Zealand. Australian resident doctors earn overtime, but Kiwi doctors do not. Association secretary Deborah Powell said the NZ health system needed to have strategies in place to retain its doctors "before our system disintegrates under the strain"

19th Dec - Healthscope bid to win back $560m lab pact
An Australian health company has stepped up its ownership of medical laboratories here as it tries to win back a $560 million contract for pathology services in Auckland. Healthscope, Australia's second largest private hospital operator, announced yesterday it had acquired 100 per cent of the shares in New Zealand Diagnostics Group, which has an annual revenue of about $47 million. The purchase of NZ Diagnostics, the second largest private pathology group in the country behind Diagnostic Medlab, in effect makes Healthscope the second major provider in the country

18th Dec - Healthscope buys New Zealand Diagnostics
Australia's Healthscope Limited has today announced it has made a further investment in its New Zealand operations through acquiring 100% of the shares in New Zealand Diagnostics Group Limited, mostly trading under the brand name Southern Community Laboratories (SCL), which has long-term contracts to provide community and hospital pathology to the Otago-Southland, Canterbury, Hawke’s Bay and Lakes District Health Boards

17th Dec - Study calls Labtests' proposed savings 'untenable'
In April the DHBs set up an independent services support agency to, among other duties, research the community-pathology tendering and contracting process. The committee's initial research on the magnitude of work involved suggests Labtests' projected savings were untenable – and the agency has recommended labs should be ready to open before they tender

17th Dec - Alarm as doctors cross Ditch for big pay
Pay rates up to 75 per cent higher in Australia are sucking junior doctors across the Tasman at an increasing and alarming rate, including those in advanced training, their union says. Resident Doctors Association National Secretary Deborah Powell said the union normally lost 300 to 400 members a year when they qualified as hospital specialists or GPs. But this year it had lost an additional 500 who had not completed their post-graduate training. This reinforces a trend detected by the senior doctors' union of newly qualified specialists leaving for Australia

15th Dec - Another Doctor leaves for better pay and job security in Australia    One of Marlborough's top hospital specialists is moving to Australia as part of a broader exodus of New Zealand's senior doctors seeking better pay and conditions. After eight years in New Zealand, Dr Marlise Heynike will be working on the Gold Coast at the end of February and earning 40 percent more than what she gets paid here. The senior doctors' union estimates as many as "one specialist a week" is crossing the Tasman. ASMS executive director Ian Powell believes New Zealand DHBs are dithering when it comes to competing with Australia for medical and surgical specialists. "Our retention is declining. Our capacity to recruit is very doubtful. It's a no-brainer when one pays more and the other pays less. Australia has the tyranny of proximity because you can go to Australia and you're not far away (from family and friends) to visit. We've always been vulnerable. Our critical mass is small to maintain a viable medical workforce so we've got to be a bit smarter"

15th Dec - Quick Resolution Needed In Senior Doctors' Dispute
The Council of Trade Unions said a quick resolution to the senior doctors' pay dispute was needed, following a majority decision by members of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists in favour of industrial action. “That 9 in 10 ASMS members have voted for industrial action indicates the level of frustration felt about this drawn-out pay negotiation,” CTU president Helen Kelly said. “This was not a decision that was taken lightly. New Zealand hospitals are competing internationally for senior medical staff. If public hospitals and health services are to continue to offer an accessible, quality and highly regarded service they must be able to recruit and retain senior doctors”

15th Dec - Doctors vote in favour of industrial action
Senior doctors have voted to go on strike – but no action will be taken before late April at the earliest. A postal ballot, in which three-quarters of the country's 2800 doctors voted, saw nine out of 10 in favour of striking over stalled pay talks. In even the most reluctant district – Canterbury – three out of four voting doctors opted for strike action. However, after a five-hour meeting yesterday, leaders of the senior doctors' union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, said they were giving district health boards more time to improve their pay offer before calling a strike

14th Dec - Medical association urges action before strike
The Medical Association wants urgent action to resolve the industrial dispute for senior hospital doctors. Nine out of 10 have voted to strike over pay claims. The proposed action is a mix of repeated two-day and week-long strikes. Medical Association chair Dr Peter Foley says it's a sad time when senior doctors are forced into a situation like this

14th Dec - Urgent action needed on industrial situation
Urgent action is now needed to resolve the industrial situation for senior hospital doctors, says the New Zealand Medical Association. NZMA Chair Dr Peter Foley said, “Taking industrial action will not have been an easy decision. However, in the long-term interests of quality care for patients, there is no other choice.” Dr Foley said the NZMA has repeatedly called on the Government to take urgent action to improve the working environment and industrial situation in the public hospital sector. The Minister of Health, Ministry of Health, and the DHBs set the environment in which doctors work, and they need to show that they value the medical profession’s critical role in the delivery of health care

14th Dec - 9 out of 10 senior doctors vote for industrial action
“A sea change has occurred in New Zealand’s health system with 9 out of 10 senior doctors voting for limited industrial action,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today. “The vote supporting industrial action was massive with 88% in favour and only 12% against. There were massive majorities in all district health boards with the smallest majority being 77%. This has been a tremendously difficult decision for senior doctors to make. When they first became senior doctors they would have never considered the possibility that they would vote for industrial action. It would have been the last thing on their minds. However, they have been left with no option because of the medical workforce crisis that threatens the future of our health system and patient care”

14th Dec - Doctors threaten strike in new year
Senior doctors have voted overwhelmingly in favour of limited industrial action, setting the stage for a national strike among senior staff at public hospitals next year. The move is expected to hit hospitals hard, with 90 per cent of union members – including specialists, surgeons and psychiatrists – employed by the district health boards. Ian Powell, executive director of the senior doctors' union, said, "This vote can only be described as the most damning indictment imaginable for the DHBs' industrial relations strategy and the failure of DHBs to comprehend and respond to New Zealand's medical workforce crisis. This is a vote of no confidence in their national leadership"

14th Dec - Senior doctors vote to strike amid frustration
Hospitals around the country face major disruptions next year after senior doctors voted to vent their frustration with the public health system in an unprecedented national strike. The vote gives the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists a mandate to organise two-day, week-long or indefinite strikes, but it will hold off issuing a formal notice of industrial action until its next national executive meeting on February 21. Strike action by as many as 2800 senior doctors could begin about eight weeks after that in late April. Senior doctors will treat acute and emergency cases but hospitals will experience major disruptions and non-urgent cases will be affected. Senior doctors have carried out industrial action before in regions but never before nationally

14th Dec - Senior docs to take industrial action
Senior doctors will take the unprecedented step of industrial action next year in a bid to resolve their two-year dispute with district health boards. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists has been in a prolonged battle to get better wages and conditions in a new national collective contract for some of New Zealand's most senior doctors. It is understood the vote, which attracted more than a 70 per cent response from the union's nearly-3000 members, was almost unanimous for taking industrial action in the new year. The decision will add more spark to debate about health funding in the lead-up to next year's election. arlier this year the union released a survey showing one senior doctor a week was leaving New Zealand for Australia where some specialists can earn 50 per cent more than what they earn here

14th Dec - Doctors vote in favour of strike action
Senior doctors say they have a mandate for strike action, but will not issue a formal strike notice just yet. Their union has released the results of the first-ever ballot by senior doctors on limited industrial action over their stalled pay claim. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says 90% of about 2,100 doctors who voted were in favour. The union says it is offering District Health Boards an olive branch by deferring issuing a formal strike notice until its next executive meeting on 21 February

13th Dec - Strike by doctors a real possibility
Strike action by up to 30 Timaru hospital senior medical staff moved one step closer yesterday as a national ballot voted in favour of taking industrial action. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists and DHB representatives have been locked in 17-month impasse in national contract negotiations. ASMS took a national ballot and for the first time in the history of the doctors' union, more than 70 per cent of the country's 2600 senior doctors voted for strike action in the postal ballot which closed on Tuesday. The ASMS executive board will now meet on Friday to consider the results and decide what, if any, industrial action will be taken

12th Dec - Senior doctors vote on strike
Results of a postal ballot on an unprecedented nationwide strike by senior doctors will be announced on Friday. More than 70 per cent of the country's 2600 senior doctors voted in the postal ballot on strike action by yesterday's 5pm deadline. The move follows 17 months of acrimonious pay talks and mediation. The union has rejected a 10 per cent pay offer over two years and says it wants $10,000 per specialist more than district health boards have offered. Christchurch intensive care specialist Geoff Shaw said he expected many senior doctors to back action. "Everything else has failed ... it is pathetic we have got to this point"

6th Dec - Report shows plans to cut doctors at under-fire hospital
A secret report suggesting cutting up to 50 doctors at the embattled Capital and Coast DHB is the latest blow to strike the beleaguered Wellington Hospital. It was revealed today that a group of health board managers, Health Ministry officials and external consultants advise reducing the number of doctors and outsourcing some specialties to solve the DHB's financial woes. It is already under fire after a number of high profile deaths and its chief executive quit yesterday. Senior doctors' union executive director Ian Powell said, "They've got shortages already. They've been covered up by doctors working excessive hours and this is the frustrating thing, what has this razor gang come up with? A proposal to increase the workload of over-worked doctors"

6th Dec - Hospital's secret report: Cut up to 50 docs
A secret razor gang of health board managers, Health Ministry officials and external consultants advises cutting up to 50 doctors and outsourcing some specialties to solve Capital and Coast's financial woes. A draft of a confidential report leaked to The Dominion Post shows Capital and Coast's deficit is set to balloon to $48.4 million by 2009-10 unless urgent action is taken to address the underlying causes. Senior doctors said the report was likely to further undermine morale at Wellington Hospital, which is reeling from a spate of bad publicity about management of clinical failures and crises in child cancer and maternity services, culminating in the abrupt departure of chief executive Margot Mains yesterday

6th Dec - Minister of Health announces further DHB appointments
Health Minister David Cunliffe today announced the names of deputy chairs and appointed members for most District Health Boards. Auckland DHB: • Harry Burkhardt (new appointment as deputy chair, reappointed as member) • Rob Cooper, Juliet Walker (new appointment as members); Waitemata DHB: • Max Abbott (new appointment as deputy chair; elected member) • Robert Khan, Mary Lythe, Gwen Tepania-Palmer (new appointment as members); Counties Manukau DHB: • Ruth DeSouza, Lope Ginnen (new appointment as members)

3rd Dec - Lab test fees hit elderly
Elderly patients will suffer the most if other district health boards follow Wellington's example and start charging for laboratory tests ordered by private specialists, doctors say. Since Capital and Coast and Hutt Valley district health boards stopped picking up the tab for private patients last November, patients have been billed more than $1.6 million. Some have paid more than $1600 each for diagnostic tests that are free elsewhere

15th Nov - Health board election slammed as 'undemocratic'
The appointment of an unsuccessful election candidate as the Canterbury District Health Board's (CDHB) new chairman has been called undemocratic. Christchurch lawyer Alister James was this week named as chairman, despite failing to win a second term on the board in last month's elections. New board member Andrew Dickerson said he was disappointed by the appointment as it was undemocratic for someone who did not have the public's support to be in such a powerful position

14th Nov - Bigger is better for relocated blood collection centre
East Care Botany’s Diagnostic Medlab (DML) blood collection centre moved into new premises this week, at the rear of the East Care building. The rooms provide a larger staff area, better storage, better toilet facilities and allow the flow of natural light. “The new collection room is more than twice the size of the existing premises, with a much larger waiting room and more cubicles to cope with growing demand in the area,” says DML general manager of collection services, Armyne Raines

14th Nov - Musical chairs as health board chiefs named
The appointment of the heads of the country's district health boards has seen a change at two of the three Auckland boards. Counties Manukau chairman Pat Snedden returns to Auckland DHB as chairman, replacing the often controversial Wayne Brown, who did not seek reappointment to focus on his new role as Mayor of the Far North. Widely tipped as Mr Brown's successor, Mr Snedden was a former Government appointee to the Auckland board who was subsequently elected as a member on a Labour-leaning ticket

13th Nov - Minister announces DHB chairs
Health Minister David Cunliffe today announced the appointment of 19 District Health Board chairs. Mr Cunliffe has reappointed 13 current chairs, with another two chairs moving to other boards. Chairs who will be moving from their current boards to take up new positions are Professor Gregor Coster, who moves from the West Coast DHB to Counties Manukau, and Pat Snedden who moves from Counties Manukau DHB to Auckland DHB. Mr Snedden succeeds Wayne Brown who has chosen to focus on his new role as the Mayor of the Far North. The present head of the Waitemata district health board, Kay McKelvie, stays on for another three-year term

13th Nov - The Diagnostic Medlab case: pushing the boundaries of public law, or just an unusual set of law & facts?
Justice Asher agreed that section 57 prohibited Dr Bierre using DHB information for his own personal benefit, and went further, expressing the view that “If there is a principle here, it is that a DHB should not allow insiders to an administrative process to use significant information gained as a consequence of their position, for their personal advantage.” Ultimately, Asher found that this issue could not be managed other than by the DHBs refusing to consider any tender involving Dr Bierre. The risk to the fairness of the tendering process was such that Dr Bierre could not be involved in it at all, either as a bidder or as a Board member

12th Nov - Lab contract row rears its ugly head
The new Health Minister is being criticised for failing to acknowledge a report investigating conflicts of interest at the Auckland DHB. It follows an Auditor General's inquiry into the Board's handling of the controversial laboratory services contract earlier this year, which ended up in the High Court. Judges eventually overturned a decision by the Auckland, Waitemata and Counties-Manukau DHBs to award a $560 million contract to Labtests Auckland. National Party Health spokesman Tony Ryall says nothing has been done to manage potential conflicts of interests, despite the outcry. He says the DHB has not learned its lesson, and it is up to the Health Minister David Cunliffe to step in

12th Nov - Answers needed on damning AG report
The Health Minister needs to provide the public with explanations about the way the Auckland DHB is managing conflicts of interest, says National Party Health spokesman, Tony Ryall. "David Cunliffe must reveal why, according to last week's scathing report by the Auditor-General, the Auckland DHB has taken no action to improve the way it handles conflicts of interest in light of the half-billion dollar lab contract bungle. After all the public flack, the Auditor-General is saying nothing has been done. This suggests an arrogant disregard by the ADHB over what's happened. Has the Auckland District Health Board learnt nothing from this fiasco?"

9th Nov - Wayne Brown and Ross Keenan to be replaced as DHB heads    The departures of Wayne Brown to become the Far North's new mayor, and Metrowater head and outgoing deputy chairman of the Auckland, Counties Manukau, and Waitemata boards Ross Keenan, leaves vacancies as chairman and deputy chairman of the Auckland District Health Board, which has this week suffered new fall-out following the contracting process. After the local elections last month, new Health Minister David Cunliffe is expected to name his appointments to the 21 district health boards and their chairs and deputies next week. The new boards take office on December 10. DHB members Pat Sneddon and Kay McKelvie are speculated to be possibilities for the new head of the Auckland DHB

8th Nov - Auditor General's Report on Auckland DHB's handling of conflicts-of-interest

8th Nov - Health board chiefs rebuked over conflicts of interest
The Auditor-General has condemned Auckland health chiefs for failing to tackle conflict-of-interest issues following the failed $560 million community lab testing court case. In a damning report, Kevin Brady criticises the practices and procedures at the Auckland board. "We had expected that, if anything, the Auckland DHB might have a higher sensitivity to conflicts of interests, because of the previous conflict-of-interest concerns," his report said, "At the Auckland DHB it was not apparent to us that the board made any significant attempt to engage with conflict-of-interest issues"

8th Nov - Health board inquiry finds fault
Auckland District Health Board has not fared well in a Auditor General's performance audit on managing conflicts of interest. Auditor General Kevin Brady's report says the chairs and chief executives at Waitemata and Counties Manukau were attentive to conflict of interest matters. However he says in Auckland it was not apparent the board made any significant attempts to engage in the area. The report says such matters don't have a high profile at meetings and the board often doesn't even consider whether particular members needed to be excluded

8th Nov - Minister not commenting
Health Minister David Cunliffe is staying clear of a critical audit on conflict of interest management at the Auckland District Health Board. The Auditor-General gave all three Auckland DHBs the once-over after the High Court canned a controversial laboratory services contract earlier this year because of a conflict of interest. Kevin Brady's findings are critical of the Auckland DHB and its processes. Health Minister David Cunliffe has declined to comment on the findings as he says he has not yet been fully briefed. The ADHB says it is already in the process of addressing the Auditor-General's recommendations

7th Nov - Laws To Learn The Hard Health Lesson
Wanganui DHB member Michael Laws' enthusiasm for representing his community is laudable – but he will soon learn that he is expected to do nothing more than toe the Labour Government line, ACT NZ Health Spokesman Heather Roy said today. "At his first DHB meeting he will be informed that his only job is to, not cater to his community's health needs but, implement Labour's health policies," Mrs Roy said. "Should Mr Laws ignore this advice, and continue to put his community's health needs above all else – as would be expected from an elected DHB member – he will find himself silenced like David Tranter on the West Coast, Erin Baker in Canterbury and so many others around the country. Unfortunately, Mr Laws is about to learn the hard way what many New Zealanders already know: that DHB members have no choice but to obey their political masters, and are given no power to speak of with which to effect meaningful change for the better health of their communities"

8th Nov - Former ADHB Chief Wayne Brown applies his people skills to "fix" Northland    Far North District Council staff are in shock after the new district's Mayor began his first term by insulting and threatening them and scrapping all of the previous council's committees. Mr Brown warned staff that anyone who did not embrace his "changes" should "re-examine their involvement" with the council. Council staff are "deeply disappointed that in his first act as the new Mayor Mr Brown has chosen to attack their integrity and threaten their jobs," said Brenda Pilott, National Secretary of the Public Service Association
read the original version of the NZ Herald article here

6th Nov - ASMS Exec Director: Give new Health Minister a break
In response to criticism by Tony Ryall of the new Minister , ASMS Executive Director Ian Powell said, "Mr Cunliffe only became health minister yesterday. God allegedly took seven days to create the world. I'm sure we can allow a mere mortal a little more time to turn around the health system. Don't worry Tony. If Mr Cunliffe meets and greets for too long, we'll let him know"

6th Nov - Ryall blasts new Health Minister for "meet and greet"
National Health Spokesman Tony Ryall criticised new Health Minister David Cunliffe, saying "Given a chance in Parliament today to set out his ideas, he offered no new priorities or solutions for the thousands waiting on hospital waiting lists and languishing in emergency departments. His solution is to meet and greet. Despite his billing as a rising star, it’s clear Mr Cunliffe is offering more of the same as his predecessor, Pete Hodgson – long delays, endless bureaucracy and poor value for money”

2nd Nov - Doctors move closer to national strike
On the second day of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists' national conference in Wellington today more than 100 senior doctor delegates voted unanimously in favour of an unprecedented national strike ballot in their long-running dispute with DHBs. ASMS exec director Ian Powell said New Zealand had a "serious medical workforce crisis" that threatened patient services and patient safety. "We are losing on average one senior doctor a week to Australia, losing our trainee specialists to Australia, and losing senior doctors to the private sector, and many health services are being maintained by senior doctors working excessive hours"

2nd Nov - Doctors Vote Unanimously For National Ballot
ASMS exec director Ian Powell said, “This unprecedented situation is in response to the protracted impasse in our national collective agreement negotiations which commenced in May 2006. It also follows mass national stopwork meetings held in July-August which overwhelmingly voted to reject the DHBs’ position in the negotiations and to support a national ballot on limited industrial action should the impasse continue. Unfortunately the lack of leadership in district health boards has led to us having to negotiate with ostriches with their head in the sand. They are in a permanent state of denial over this crisis. The recommended industrial action will not affect emergency and acute services and not put patient safety at risk"

2nd Nov - NZMA alarmed at industrial situation
The New Zealand Medical Association today expressed alarm that the industrial situation in the public hospital sector has deteriorated to the stage where ASMS, the senior hospital doctors’ union, feels forced to take the unprecedented step of holding a ballot on limited industrial action. NZMA Chairman Dr Peter Foley said: “All doctors are appalled that the Government has stood back and allowed the situation to get to this stage. The Minister, Ministry of Health, and the DHBs set the environment in which doctors work and they have shown that they do not value the profession’s critical role in the delivery of health care. “As major employers, we would expect the DHBs to show greater respect to their workforce, which is already under huge stress”

2nd Nov - Doctors consider strike action
Senior hospital doctors will decide tomorrow whether to hold a ballot on limited strike action as their long-running dispute with district health boards grinds on. Talks are stalled and the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists was urged by association president Jeff Brown on the first day of its two-day conference in Wellington yesterday to be bold. The dispute has run for 16 months and talks broke down again last week

1st Nov - Medical Board tests negative for relevance
The lack of student representation on the newly appointed Medical Training Board is a major impediment to meaningful training development, the Green Party says, joining the New Zealand Medical Students' Association in their concerns that the new Training Board does not have any representation from the key stakeholder group – medical students. "Given that Cullen's vision for the Medical Health Board was to 'maximise the fit of our new graduates with their work environment', it seems entirely counter-productive to appoint a board with not one student perspective to draw from," says Green Health Spokesperson Sue Kedgley

1st Nov - Medical Training Board Unfit to Practice
The announcement of the Medical Training Board today fails to include representation of learners. This move goes against current government priorities, which acknowledge learners as the prime stakeholders in tertiary education. “That makes the make-up of this Board inadequate,” says Mr Nick Fancourt, President of the New Zealand Medical Students’ Association. Fancourt adds, "The absence of representation runs counter to the board’s role of ensuring appropriate future training pathways for New Zealand’s doctors"

1st Nov - Medical training board established
The newly established Medical Training Board will provide oversight of the education and training of medical practitioners so they are better adapted to changing practices in the health sector, Tertiary Education Minister Dr Michael Cullen, said today. "The number of funded places at our Medical Schools has increased twice in the last 27 years – by 40 places in 2004 and again by a further 40 places next year; bringing the number of first year medical students studying at Otago and Auckland universities to 365 from the 2008 academic year. But future planning around the Medical workforce is not solely about their numbers,” said Dr Cullen

1st Nov - Senior doctors fire parting shot at Hodgson
Senior doctors have fired a parting shot at outgoing health minister Peter Hodgson, accusing him of "mind-boggling" behaviour in reaction to sector concerns. ASMS President Jeff Brown said problems in the sector had followed the pattern set by Mr Hodgson's leadership. "His behaviour and inertia in response to advice and alarm from many groups of doctors is mind-boggling," Mr Brown said. He placed blame for the stand-off on the DHBs, accusing managers of disconnecting with doctors. "We see a DHB advocate use misrepresentations, exaggeration, and downright lies during protracted negotiations. His behaviour was protested through many avenues yet DHBs kept him in charge"

1st Nov - ASMS National Conference Speech
Presidential Address by Jeff Brown – Association of Salaried Medical Specialists National Conference 2007: "Why each week do we hear of another hospital specialist leaving for Australia, or for private practice? While those in charge search for evidence of a problem. While another workforce group takes more months to make up its mind. While the story is plain for all to see on the front page of yet another morning paper. Why these egregious examples of disconnect?"

1st Nov - Surprise choice for Minister of Health has plans for 'listening and reading'    The man taking over the Government's sensitive health portfolio admits he has little background in the sector and will take time to learn about it – but New Lynn MP David Cunliffe appears confident about the task ahead. "I come into this with a very clean sheet of paper – I think that's an advantage as well as a disadvantage, and I'm definitely in listening mode," he said. "My early moves in health will be characterised by a whole lot of listening and reading, and meeting people and establishing relationships"

1st Nov - Doctors hope Cunliffe will aid negotiations
Senior doctors are optimistic the new Health Minister could have a positive influence on their protracted contract negotiations with DHBs. The ASMS opened its annual conference in Wellington this morning, and President Jeff Brown took the opportunity to criticise former Health Minister Pete Hodgson. He lamented the disconnection between doctors and both Mr Hodgson and DHB bosses, and said while new Health Minister David Cunliffe may not be involved in their negotiations, he is in charge of the health system and should be able to say things to DHB bosses that produce action. Dr Brown hopes Mr Cunliffe's appointment may change the atmosphere and help create a reconnection between himself, doctors and the DHBs

31st Oct - NZMA welcomes new Minister of Health
The New Zealand Medical Association welcomes David Cunliffe’s appointment as the Minister of Health today. “The appointment of a high flyer to the difficult portfolio of health is a positive move,” NZMA Chairman Dr Peter Foley said today. “We look forward to working with Mr Cunliffe, and helping him achieve solutions to many of the issues facing the health sector.” Early priorities include finding solutions to major workforce difficulties, and improving the troubled relationship between doctors and DHB management in many areas. “It’s also important that as Minister, Mr Cunliffe engages with the entire sector and does not just rely on ‘in-house’ advice”

31st Oct - Hodgson faces axe as Health Minister
Health Minister Pete Hodgson looks likely to be a major casualty in today's Cabinet reshuffle, in which the Prime Minister will unveil a more drastic revamp of her ministerial line-up than predicted. Mr Hodgson is expected to be axed from the politically sensitive Health portfolio after less than two years in the job

29th Oct - Senior doctors' pay talks fail again
The prospect of senior hospital doctors walking off the job has come another step closer with the failure of the latest round of pay talks with district health boards. The doctors' union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, met DHB representatives again last week in an attempt to resolve the 16-month impasse in contract negotiations. ASMS executive director Ian Powell told NZPA a new pay offer was made but it was only "a slight improvement" on a previous offer rejected by doctors, and was still not enough. The specialists are seeking a two-year term, with a salary increase that would average out at 5 per cent a year. They also want an increased rate of compensation for working on-call, and greater reimbursement of continuing medical education expenses

27th Oct - MedLab staff opt for early retirement
Six Wanganui Diagnostic MedLab staff have opted for early retirement when the pending merger with the hospital laboratory takes place. MedLab Central announced the amalgamation of Wanganui Hospital laboratory and the community lab to staff two weeks ago; informing them that surplus positions would result. Three scientists and three technologists from WDM requested early retirement and one scientist opted for deployment elsewhere. One of the scientists who chose early retirement said the move had put a lot of stress and strain on staff, who were disappointed and not particularly happy. "Our parent company has won the contract and we're the ones that lose our jobs," he said, but either way Wanganui would lose valuable laboratory staff. With only one lab in Wanganui, people would have to move to work in their own field. Many WDM staff had years of experience and it would be difficult for them to retrain. Working on-call on shifts would also be a change for WDM scientists, some of whom had young families and presently worked 7.30am to 5.30pm weekdays.

19th Oct - Headless Chooks Don't Provide Health Leadership
Health systems throughout the world resemble dysfunctional families and New Zealand is no exception. What was the response of the government when hundreds of specialists in New Zealand in national stopwork meetings concluded that the medical workforce in New Zealand had reached a crisis point? The answer is a mix of silence, denial and inaction. The most critical factor in this situation is the chickens are coming home to roost (to the extent that headless chooks can undertake this flight task) over the failure of the government to have a coherent strategic direction for public hospitals

16th Oct - Plan to bill patients for lab tests gets bumpy reception
A plan to start charging private patients for medical tests has been floated by South Island district health boards (DHBs). The scheme is touted to save boards $3 million a year. The proposal, sent out for feedback late last week, has met with a bumpy reception, especially among specialists and insurers, who say it could wind up costing patients and health providers at least twice that. A Christchurch urologist said the plan would punish patients who were already saving the Government money and could drive them back into the public system

16th Oct - Final DHB election results
Many incumbent DHB members were re-elected, but sadly, David Collings of Counties Manukau DHB, who had the courage to speak up about irregularites and questionable DHB actions in the lab tendering process, has been ousted

15th Oct - New members call for reform of DHBs
Three-quarters of DHB members were re-elected in local body elections at the weekend, but new members, including many health professionals, say it is time to address significant problems. One of three doctors elected to Wellington's Capital and Coast DHB, Peter Roberts, says managers have had too much control at the expense of others, such as those who deliver care. David Tranter, of Democrats for Social Credit, regained a seat on West Coast DHB and says board members everywhere should be asking questions

9th Oct - Maternity contract going to tender
Birthcare, created by Labtests co-founder Lee Mathias, finds itself on the receiving end of the destabilising tendering process she helped to create

7th Oct - Auckland patients wait longest for their surgery
Surgery and emergency waiting times at Auckland hospitals are among the worst in the 21 DHBs in the country, according to a new report, with at least four DHBs failing health ministry guidelines for patients needing immediate care. Auckland DHB 'fixer' Wayne Brown rejected the findings, saying that they were "rubbish" and "grossly out of date"

3rd Oct - Numbers man to sort medical training
Health minister Pete Hodgson last night announced the chair of the Medical Training Board will be former Workforce Taskforce member Len Cook. Mr Hodgson made the announcement at an Auckland University Medical Students Association symposium on the recommendations of the Workforce Taskforce, which included establishing a Medical Training Board. “For a while the Ministry of Health thought it should be the ‘Health Training Board’ but they have got over that now,” Mr Hodgson said. The minister explained all the appointments are going through cabinet, so he and Michael Cullen can talk to cabinet about medical issues

3rd Oct - Crisis warning in pathology
The move to open community laboratory testing for tender is contributing to a crisis in pathology services, says the RCPA, whose figures show the number of pathologists – laboratory doctors who diagnose 70 percent of all diseases – has dropped by 7 percent over the past five years, while the population has increased by 5 percent

2nd Oct - Pathologists warn of threat to vital care
Patients and doctors could lose vital diagnostic services without urgent Government intervention, say pathologists. RCPA chief executive Debra Graves said till now the Government had ignored repeated warnings from the college. "Pathology is in crisis in New Zealand – we have too few pathologists and 30 percent of the ones we have now will be retiring within 10 years"

2nd Oct - RCPA Supports the Director General of Health’s Strategic Plans for the Future of NZ Healthcare    The RCPA applauds the strategic foresight and the clear leadership of the Director General of Health in planning for the future of New Zealand’s healthcare services. The progress in the establishment of the Medical Training Board is a step in the right direction, and has the potential to make a substantial difference in pathology services into the future. The Director’s stated intention of consulting with the medical profession to develop services strategically for the future of New Zealand is also welcomed

1st Oct - Leadership of Minister of Health and Director General of Health needed to overcome Pathology crisis    The RCPA is calling on the Minister of Health and the Director General of Health to take clear leadership roles to solve the crisis facing New Zealand’s pathology services. RCPA CEO Dr Debra Graves says despite repeated calls for the government to address the numerous critical issues surrounding pathology services in New Zealand, it is not paying heed to the College’s warnings

24th Sep - New Australian initiative to combat shortage of pathologists, radiologists    In an Australian first, medical students at the University of New South Wales will be able to work towards specialisation in Pathology or Radiology while enrolled in their undergraduate Medicine program. The pathway, which will begin next year, will potentially shorten the period of specialist training that graduates need to undertake at the end of their six-year degree. This may help to address the current shortage of pathologists and radiologists in Australia

10th Sep - Medlab South passes first test
MedLab South has passed a test by the Nelson Marlborough DHB covering the first seven months of its five year contract, despite "a number of deficiencies" noted when the region's sole provider of blood and specimen tests first assumed the contract. Points raised in the review include turn-around times for specific tests, lost or misdirected results, or results not being passed on as requested

8th Sep - Lab union to take legal action
The Laboratory Workers Union is taking legal action against Nelson's laboratory provider Medlab South over the way it handled the transfer and redundancy of workers from former provider Nelson Diagnostic Laboratories. One of the four claims against Medlab South related to whether redundancy payments should have been made to the NDL workers who gained employment with Medlab South. The other three claims related to legal technicalities, including whether a provision in a public health service code which meant the Nelson Marlborough DHB lab workers were guaranteed employment on the same conditions with Medlab South also applied to NDL workers

6th Sep - Lab tests review calls for gee-up
Laboratory test turnaround times, clinician support and IT compatibility need improving, a review of the Nelson Marlborough medical lab service has found. The overview of Medlab South's performance is the first since the NMDHB made it the region's sole laboratory provider last year - a controversial move that drew intense public opposition

5th Sep - DHBs 'need radical change'
A Canterbury District Health Board candidate is calling for "radical changes" to make the elected body more democratic and accountable, and has criticised the board for being invisible and unaccountable, saying that the DHB governance structure does not permit board members to speak publicly on issues of concern, and shields them from public accountability

4th Sep - Date Set For Labtests Appeal
Labtests' bid to overturn a High Court Ruling invalidating its eight-year contract to provide community pathology services to Auckland will be heard by the Court of Appeal in early May 2008. Labtests had sought a priority fixture, but given the unprecedented hearing time required and the Court's busy schedule, that was the earliest date available

4th Sep - Lab company still seeking Auckland contract
The company that lost a $560 million contract for community lab testing in Auckland hopes to regain the contract. Labtests, which is now fully owned by Australian company Healthscope, says it is to appeal against the High Court ruling in current provider DML's favour, and will retender for the contract next year if necessary

24th Aug - Wealth of experience but jobless as Medlab forced to close doors    A piece of Gisborne’s history will be lost for good when Medlab Gisborne closes its doors for the last time at the end of this month. The closure comes after Medlab Gisborne lost the tender to provide lab services to TLab. A wealth of local and scientific knowledge will be lost with the closure, with Medlab Gisborne’s five scientists not retained in this district by TLab. Four of those unretained scientists have an aggregate of 120 years of service, having studied their five-year laboratory technologist qualifications together in the 1960s and ’70s

1st Jul - Open Letter to Minister of Health from RCPANZ
NZ's Royal College of Pathologists expresses grave concern at the ongoing detrimental impact on New Zealand’s health services of the tendering process undertaken by the DHBs over the past two years, which was ill-advised and lacked appropriate consultation with key stakeholders including pathologists, medical scientists, clinicians and the public. The process has been driven by a desire for short-term financial gain – at a cost of a worsening workforce crisis in Pathology

28th May - No date yet for Auckland labs appeal
The Court of Appeal in Wellington has not yet set a date to hear Labtests Auckland’s appeal regarding the contract for Auckland’s community medical testing. Labtests strongly denies any conflict of interest and is also appealing the judge’s decision Auckland DHBs were required to consult with GPs via PHOs. Healthscope bought out former Labtests director Tony Bierre and now owns all shares in the company and is responsible for running all aspects of the Mt Wellington laboratory

26th May - DHB's response "sneaky"
The Canterbury laboratory technicians have issued notice of their plan to withdraw some services from Monday, as part of their industrial action and the CDHB has reacted by cutting services by up to 70 percent. Stewart Smith from the National Laboratory Workers Union says the CDHB's actions cause more disruption than the planned strike, and claims the CDHB is taking away services that the striking workers would still have been performing; while formal suspension notices have not been issued, taking away the need for the technicians is a sneaky way of achieving the same result

24th May - Striking lab workers suspended on no pay
Nine Medical Laboratory Workers' Union members at Middlemore Hospital were suspended without pay earlier this week after they initiated strike action on Tuesday morning between 9am and 11am, but were suspended by the Counties Manukau DHB for the duration of the strike. A spokesperson for the MLWU says the strikes involve a partial withdrawal of services by lab workers for limited times this week, and are designed not to bring the hospital to a standstill. The union is calling for better pay and working conditions, and more than 80 percent of lab workers rejected the latest offer by DHBs

23rd May - DHB Welcomes returning laboratory workers
The West Coast DHB today welcomed the announcement by the NZ Medical Laboratory Workers Union that it was cancelling the notices of industrial action that it had issued for the two weeks beginning 21st and 28th May. This has the immediate effect of lifting the suspensions that West Coast DHB had applied to striking workers, meaning that they would be able to return to work immediately

22nd May - Lab worker suspensions only pouring fuel on fire
The decision by West Coast and Counties-Manakau DHBs to suspend health workers striking over the lab workers' dispute is punitive, and will only entrench positions on both sides of this rapidly escalating conflict. A Green Party Health spokesperson says the dispute is not only about wages, but also whether workers at private labs will be forced to take a cut in wages and conditions, given that they have so far been denied a collective agreement to cover the essential lab service work for DHBs that is being contracted out, clearly opening the door to a cut in wages and conditions first at the private labs, and then back within the public health system

22nd May - Lab workers scrap industrial action
Medical laboratory workers at the West Coast DHB are back on the job after scrapping a planned limited industrial action. The seven workers were suspended on Monday after going ahead with strike activity in their bid for more pay. As a result, the employees have decided to scrap the low-level action in favour of an all-out strike on June 5

22nd May - Suspended lab workers plan full-day strike
Seven laboratory workers suspended by West Coast DHB for taking limited strike action are now planning a full day of strike action next week. Following their suspension, the seven workers halted their strike action and returned to work at Greymouth Hospital. The MLWU has been entangled in a long-running pay dispute with employers comprising 15 of the country's DHBs

22nd May - More strike notices are being issued by the Laboratory Workers' Union    About 120 members of the MLWU employed at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland today began five days of industrial action over an unresolved pay claim. Eleven members have been suspended so far by the Counties Manukau DHB. Seven union members were suspended for a week at Greymouth yesterday. The Auckland DHB and Waitemata DHB and about seven other DHBs are in line for similar action in coming weeks

22nd May - More Lab workers suspended
More striking medical lab scientists have been suspended by their employer as nationwide industrial action continues. Counties Manukau DHB suspended 10 workers on Tuesday morning after they followed through on plans to carry out industrial action, withdrawing some services

22nd May - Counties Manukau DHB To Impose Limited Suspensions
Counties Manukau DHB says it plans to suspend some lab workers today, but only for the length of time that they are refusing to carry out certain work. It says that means about 20 workers will not be paid for periods of between half an hour and two hours, although they may stay at the hospital. The DHB is the second in the country to experience a partial withdrawal of labour, as members of the Laboratory Workers Union seek to resolve a deadlocked pay claim

22nd May - Lab workers suspended
Counties Manukau DHB has carried out its threat and suspended 10 workers after the employees took industrial action in support of better pay and conditions. It follows yesterday's decision by West Coast DHB to suspend seven of its striking staff for a week. Brian Rail, secretary of the Medical Laboratory Workers' Union, believes Counties-Manukau is being more selective about who it suspends. He says two staff have been suspended for four days, while another eight are suspended for between two to three hours

21st May - Laboratory workers face suspension
Laboratory workers who belong to the union and work for the Counties-Manukau DHB will find out today if they will be suspended from their jobs. The medical laboratory scientists are withdrawing some services today as part of the campaign for better pay and conditions and workers at 15 DHBs and the Blood Service have held several strikes this year. Their counterparts at West Coast DHB started their action yesterday and their employer carried out its threat to suspend them. Counties-Manukau has already warned its staff it plans to implement the suspension threat

21st May - DHB says it is managing suspensions strategically
Counties Manukau DHB says it is strategically handling striking workers to minimise the impact on patients. The Middlemore Hospital suspensions come after West Coast's DHB suspended seven union members for a week for taking part in industrial action. It is the latest wrangle in the Laboratory Workers' Union's lengthy pay dispute with 15 DHBs, the Blood Service and two South Island laboratories. Middlemore's Chief Operations Manager Ron Dunham says today's suspensions are staggered because 98 percent of their lab staff are union members

21st May - Striking lab workers suspended
Striking medical lab workers have been suspended by the West Coast DHB. The seven lab scientists are among the first to enact forms of industrial action this week as their fight for better pay and conditions continues. Medical Laboratory Workers' Union president Stewart Smith said the suspensions are risky, as the suspended workers can no longer be called on to provide life-preserving services

21st May - Fresh Strike Notices Issued To DHBs
The union representing lab workers has issued new strike notices to Auckland and Waitemata District Health Boards for action to start in about two weeks time. Eleven lab workers taking industrial action have been suspended at Middlemore Hospital today. In total, about 120 lab workers at Counties Manukau DHB will carry out partial withdrawal of labour at the busy Auckland Hospital over the next five days

21st May - Union boss says suspending lab workers is dangerous
Medical Laboratory Workers' Union boss Brian Raill says district health boards don't know what they are doing after they suspended striking workers. The MLWU has been in a long-running pay dispute with employers

21st May - Unions to look at options after suspensions
The union for the country's medical laboratory workers may take legal action after seven workers were suspended today for targeted strikes at the West Coast DHB. The workers were suspended for seven days for turning up to work at the Greymouth hospital but refusing to fulfil all their duties. Their employers had sent the workers a letter explaining they would be suspended if that type of strike was initiated. It was a move slammed by the Medical Laboratory Workers' Union as being "diabolical" and "bullying"

20th May - DHBs Consider Suspending Striking Labbies
Other District Health Boards say they will consider following the lead of two DHBs who have threatened to suspend laboratory workers if they go ahead with planned industrial action. Laboratory workers are beginning a new round of action, refusing to carry out certain tasks while at work. But the Counties Manukau and West Coast DHBs have told staff they face suspension if they proceed

19th May - Suspension threat concerns union
Medical lab workers who walk off the job as part of industrial action could find they are not welcome back. The Counties-Manukau and West Coast DHBs have issued notices signalling their intention to suspend workers who go on strike. Stewart Smith of the lab workers union says the move is very concerning as suspended workers won't be able to offer help in an emergency, as striking workers could

19th May - Suspensions necessary for safe services
DHBs say the suspension of striking Laboratory Workers is the only choice given the threat to quality and safety of patient services. Counties Manukau and West Coast DHBs have warned lab workers planning to strike next week that they’d be suspended unless the strike was called off or they agreed to work in a manner that does not pose risks for services. DHB spokesman Gordon Davies says the hospital had no choice in the face of a cynically-targeted campaign that has been designed to disrupt patient services without losing any pay

19th May - DHBs Threaten Lab Workers With Suspension
Two DHBs have told their lab workers they face suspension if they proceed with planned strike action next week. Laboratory workers at about 16 DHBs are beginning a partial withdrawal of labour over the next two weeks in connection with their drawn-out dispute over pay, hours and union coverage. Actions vary but include not answering telephones, not carrying out certain tests for periods of time, and not screening for certain organisms

19th May - DHBs defend move to suspend strikers
MLWU national secretary-treasurer Bryan Raill said yesterday the DHBs' actions were "diabolical". "They're trying to bully the lab workers out of their legal right to take this action." The lab workers' resolve had only been strengthened by the letters. The DHBs had made a 2.55 percent per annum pay offer, coupled with clawbacks on hours of work, and no employment protection, Mr Raill said

19th May - Unions not ruling out legal action against DHBs
Union officials say they are not ruling out legal action against two DHBs who have issued suspension notices to staff planning strike action. About 1200 laboratory workers have been entangled in a long-running pay dispute with their employers. The workers walked off the job for four days last month, and planned a mixture of 24-hour strikes and bans on out-of-hours work from Monday

17th May - Hospitals may be in for more upheaval
Unprecedented stop work meetings may be on the cards for senior doctors in Manukau and throughout the country, as pay negotiations with district health boards reach stalemate. Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell says it has been negotiating with DHBs for a collective national agreement for nearly a year. “We’ve tried to address serious senior doctor recruitment and retention risks but have been confronted with intransigence and indifference,” says Mr Powell. “Senior doctors have simply been pushed too far and treated with disdain by the DHBs negotiating team. The DHBs' track record to date suggests the impasse will continue"

16th May - Lab test charges push up Wellington inflation
The controversial patient charging regime for laboratory tests is behind a surge in health inflation in the Wellington area according to the Health Funds Association of New Zealand (HFANZ). Executive Director Claire Austin says “Our feedback shows many patients are being hit with significant charges, well above the $10 average which was trotted out when the DHBs floated the regime."

15th May - MP: Hodgson turns his back on doctor shortage
While Auckland hospitals face record doctor shortages, the Minister of Health, Pete Hodgson has been in Wales advising the Labour Party there on how to form a new government, says MP Tony Ryall. “New Zealand can never compete on salary alone. We have to offer job satisfaction – and that’s hard when the Labour Government has our hospitals bogged down in endless bureaucracy.”

15th May - Wellness testing funds available now
The BOP District Health Board is offering money to GPs now for wellness testing, to ensure no one misses out while a long term arrangement is worked out. The DHB wrote to GPs on Friday offering $10,000 per month for the next two to six months, for wellness testing

14th May - Doctors Want Answers Over Non-Essential Charges
Doctors are demanding answers over a move to charge Bay of Plenty residents for health tests described as non-essential. The laboratory tests provider, Medlab Bay of Plenty, says it has had to adopt tighter procedures under its new capped contract with the local District Health Board. It says it is now charging for a range of blood tests for screening purposes on people who appear well

14th May - Bay of Plenty patients to be charged with non-essential blood tests    Medlab says the new contract is designed to fund diagnostic testing, and doctors must specify what the health problem is. The change does not include cervical and certain other screening tests which are funded separately. But primary health organisations say they weren't consulted and claim patient health could be at risk. And the Medical Association says it's written to the Health Minister asking how such a charge could arise in one area only

12th May - Lab service standard 'still not acceptable'
The director of Nelson's Independent Nursing Practice says Medlab South's laboratory service is still "nowhere near acceptable standards" despite the company and health authorities claiming that problems had been resolved. GPs and community nurses have complained of slow turnaround times for tests done in Christchurch, difficulty tracking down some results and errors in patient information

10th May - Wayne Brown: I've been fixing too many things in Auckland    Auckland District Health Board chairman Wayne Brown is neither confirming nor denying rumours that he plans to contest the Far North mayoralty at October's local elections. A business partner of Mr Brown's, quoted in a story profiling the so-called 'public sector fix-it man' in this month's edition of 'Metro' magazine, says he has spoken of standing for mayor. Brown says, "I've been fixing too many things in Auckland. I've learned recently they don't say thanks, I've learned just recently. So I'll fix the Far North."

8th May - Lab workers accuse DHB's of playing games
The lab workers' union is accusing district health boards of playing games rather than trying to seriously settle a long-running pay dispute. The boards have accused the Medical Laboratory Workers Union of agreeing to mediation just hours before it served a series of strike notices, but Union National Secretary Bryan Raill denies there was an agreement to enter mediation

7th May - DHB: Lab Workers Union Makes Mockery Of Negotiation    District Health Boards say The Laboratory Workers’ Union is making a mockery of the serious efforts to settle their long-running pay dispute. “On Friday, the union agreed to return to mediation, but within hours it served a series of strike notices to escalate the dispute,” says DHB Spokesman, Gordon Davies, CEO of Canterbury DHB

7th May - Lab Workers And DHB Disagree Over Mediation
District health boards and laboratory workers involved in an industrial dispute have different views about whether an agreement has been reached to go back to mediation. The DHBs say union officials were approached by the Mediation Service and agreed to attend mediation later this week, but the union says it has merely agreed to talk about the idea of doing so

7th May - DHB: Lab workers need to give a little
District Health Boards say the Laboratory Workers' Union needs to give a little, so long-running pay disputes can come to an end. On Friday the collective issued notice which ranged from a 24-hour strike, to an out-of-hours work ban at some hospitals and say more action will follow. DHB spokesman Davies Gorden says the union should stop issuing notices, and come to the table ready to nut-out a deal

3rd May - Bay of Plenty GPs threaten legal action over blood test ruling    Tauranga GPs are demanding the Bay's health board stops charging patients for certain blood tests and gives control of the process back to them, saying it could have another legal fight on its hands if it doesn't comply. From April 1, a new fee regime was introduced by the health board and Medlab BOP whereby patients who were healthy but wanted blood tests to check they were okay were charged extra for them. Such tests included cholesterol and prostate checks. The health board's reasoning was that money should be spent on people who were sick, not people who were well

3rd May - Garth George: Bean-counting mentality creates heartless society    Even after eight years of Labour-led governments, there has been no improvement in, for instance, poverty levels, healthcare delivery, education, law and order, the dispensing of justice or home ownership. In fact, in all those areas there is plenty of reason to believe that things have become worse. Nothing better illustrates the bean-counting mentality that has led to this sad state of affairs than a statement made a month or so ago by the chairman of the Auckland District Health Board, Wayne Brown: "We've brought very much a production-orientated approach to the running of the hospital. Making it like a big factory as much as we could. We've tried to remove the emotion, just run it as a productive unit." Leaving aside that this statement proves beyond any doubt that Mr Brown really has no idea of what a hospital is, let alone how to run one, it raises a critical question: how do you remove emotion from a hospital - or any other part of the health system, for that matter?

2nd May - PHO in Talks With DHBs on New Lab Contract
The Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation is maintaining its aim to work constructively with the BoP DHB to sort out the situation surrounding reduced services under the new laboratory services contract. However, there is increasing pressure by the PHO for the Health Board to ensure arrangements for patients and GPs revert to how they were pre-1 April when the new service arrangement came into force. Under the new contract, the laboratory company – not the GP – decides whether an application by a GP for a lab test for his or her patient is valid and should be carried out

1st May - Consultation – a big con or a bit of a joke?
Not all DHBs are created equal in the realm of consultation. That’s not surprising because at the heart of good consultation is having the right attitude. Anyone who has been to a few different DHB board meetings will have witnessed a range of attitudes to public involvement in decision making on health services. Those attitudes are set hard in place around the boardroom table. Take for instance a comment found in the board papers of the Whanganui DHB back in 2003. A board member, concerned about the lack of public consultation over changes to primary care services, is told the board is only required to consult when it is cutting services, not enhancing them! Bearing in mind that one person’s cuts are another’s enhancements, that’s an intriguing take on consultation and may explain some of the Whanganui DHB’s ongoing problems

1st May - Western BoP GPs raise labs concerns
Western Bay of Plenty GPs are concerned changes to community pathology testing with a new community labs contract are placing patient care at risk. Of particular concern is a provision in the contract with Medlab Bay of Plenty that patients be clinically ill or have a clinically justifiable risk factor before they receive free testing. Local GP and chair of a group of GPs, Provider Inc, John Gemming says the DHB maintains nothing has changed, whereas in reality the environment has changed markedly, and he asks why has there been no consultation or clarification over how GPs will find the other 50 percent of people whose diabetes is still undiagnosed, without opportunistic screening

30th Apr - GPs voice lab service woes
Some Nelson GPs are concerned about the way Nelson's laboratory services have been run since health officials contracted out the region's entire service to one provider. Nelson GP Hamish Hilson is quoted in a recent edition of New Zealand Doctor magazine as saying he had put two patients on antibiotics as a precaution because their chlamydia results were too slow in coming back. He also expressed concern about the form of lab test result data. Nelson Bays Primary Health executive officer Andrew Dobbs said Nelson's Primary Health Organisation had received complaints of delays in getting test results, and other problems raised had "already been in the media". The feedback has been passed to the health board

30th Apr - Questions in Parliament to Helen Clark - You Tube Video

30th Apr - Wayne Brown Rule No. 6: Do the Right Thing
Turnaround expert Wayne Brown says the same commonsense principles apply to any size of enterprise. As chairman of the Auckland District Health Board – the authority getting heat for its handling of a $560 million laboratory testing contract – Mr Brown has had to endure many weeks of politicians calling for his head. And with an appeal lodged by Labtests, the case is set to roll on for many months yet. Meanwhile, Brown has released a new book which lays down his 10 essential rules for running a business. Interestingly, part of Rule No. 2 is to "fix mistakes immediately" and Rule No. 10 is: "Always ask, how would this sound in court?" It's too bad the book wasn't released before the Auckland laboratory contract decision was made – the fiasco might have been prevented if the ADHBs had taken Mr Brown's advice

30th Apr - GPs help patients dodge test fees
Patients in the Wellington region have had to pay for medical tests ordered by private specialists since November last year. But they can avoid the charges if their tests are ordered by a GP instead. The Hutt Valley and Capital and Coast district health boards are the only ones in New Zealand that charge people for tests ordered by specialists. They announced a new combined community laboratory contract with Aotea Pathology in June last year, which was expected to save the boards about $33 million over five years. Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners president Jonathan Fox, who is based in Auckland, said the two district health boards' decision had compromised patient care. He believed there should be national consistency. The boards' decision to charge was "a departure from the norm and was really done without any consultation or public debate".

28th Apr - Sick health service a nuisance for many
Disruption seems to have become the norm in our health system – and the public, as well as the staff trying to work in an environment of ever-shifting goalposts, are having to suffer for it. 11,562 work days were lost to strikes in the health sector last year – more than five times the total for the previous year. We are wondering: What's wrong with our health service? The Government has given it sizeable injections of money, yet so many of its workers feel undervalued, overwhelmed and unhappy

27th Apr - NZNO CEO: Fair pay always the right thing
New Zealand Nurses' Organisation CEO Geoff Annals says, "Too often, health workers, especially women health workers, are expected to subsidise health services by accepting unfair wages. In 1986 enough nurses and midwives finally recognised the hypocrisy and gross unfairness of those who demanded nurses and their families should take on a financial responsibility that belongs to society as a whole to force an unwilling politician to allow a proper and fair pay adjustment. They only achieved this by their determination to strike if necessary. Health services are delivered by health workers and careful attention must be paid to the legitimate needs of those workers, not only for fair pay but also for working conditions that enable them to practise to the standards required of them by the public whom they care for."

27th Apr - Former Health Minister: DHBs don't like to negotiate with healthcare union representative    Michael Bassett, Health Minister from 1984-87, says, "Rolling strikes by junior doctors, radiographers and lab workers have been going on for much of the last 12 months. They are being masterminded by Dr Deborah Powell whose organisation, Contract Negotiation Services, is used by junior doctors, radiographers and laboratory workers. And it's clear the DHBs hate her tactics. Last year they dug in for a long time during negotiations with junior doctors, and they have said some very rude things about her conduct. DHB stubbornness always returns whenever she's around."

27th Apr - Wayne Brown: The fiasco in health last month was Ribena    When the High Court overturned a decision by three of Auckland's DHBs to give a half billion dollar contract to Australian firm Labtests last month, there were calls for heads to roll and Auckland Hospital chairman Wayne Brown was at the top of the list. The self-made millionaire and trouble-shooter was brought in to chair Vector after the lights went out in Auckland and has chaired broadcast and telecommunication companies as well as helping get Gisborne and Northland hospitals back on their feet. But it's his time as chair of Auckland Hospital that has really seen the straight talking business man in the headlines. Last month it got really ugly and the usually outspoken Mr Brown has kept his head down, not commenting on the High Court decision. But he's got plenty to say in printed form in his new book called the Five Minute MBA

27th Apr - Blood testing will still be done in the city
There has been a lot of confusion as to where people will have to go to be tested when Gisborne Medlab closes on August 31, with many believing they will have to go to Gisborne Hospital. Tairawhiti District Health (TDH) funding and planning manager Helene Carbonatto said Gisborne residents will still be able to have pathology tests taken in the CBD when Medlab closes, with new provider Tlab having the same number, if not more, of collection sites in the CBD

27th Apr - National strike threat by senior doctors
Senior doctors are threatening the nation's first national strike as pay talks become increasingly acrimonious. The threat comes as the Pan Professional Medical Forum, which includes medical colleges and doctors' unions, warns the "very serious" recruitment and retention problem is approaching crisis levels in some provincial areas. Forum convener Professor Phil Bagshaw says the adversarial industrial climate is causing low morale amongst doctors, with many now "looking seriously" at moving to Australia for better pay and conditions

26th Apr - Profession Alarmed About DHB Industrial Climate
“The medical profession is alarmed about the deteriorating industrial climate in district health boards,” said Professor Phil Bagshaw, Convenor of the Pan Professional Medical Forum, which represents almost 100% of working doctors in NZ. “New Zealand is facing a very serious doctor recruitment and retention problem. In some parts of the country this has become a crisis. The trends are most evident in provincial New Zealand. If allowed to continue it will spread to the larger centres where there are already signs of this. NZ is losing too many of the doctors we train, making us increasingly dependent on overseas trained doctors. The adversarial industrial climate is compounding our serious recruitment and retention problems. It is causing low morale among our well-trained doctors and it risks driving them away. Many of them are now looking seriously at Australia where the employment conditions are much superior.”

26th Apr - Health sector work stoppages spiral
Figures from Statistics New Zealand show that in 2006 the number of days lost by hospital strikes ballooned to 11,562 compared to just 1,750 in 2000. A record number of health workers have been involved too. MP Tony Ryall says, "More money than ever is being pumped into the health system. Yet this year is stumbling along in the same way as the old year finished – in a fog of workplace mistrust, with more and more patients paying the price. Labour's regime prevents DHBs from talking directly to their employees. This is clearly contributing to the climate of mistrust that has so become part of the hospital scene in NZ."

25th Apr - New deal to be offered to striking lab workers
The company that employs striking Southland and Otago laboratory workers announced it would take a new deal to the workers' union next week. However, Medical Laboratory Workers' Union (MLWU) national secretary-treasurer Bryan Raill said it was strange SCL (Southern Community Laboratories) Otago-Southland Ltd had got to the point of weathering industrial action if it had had a significantly better deal up its sleeve. MLWU wants private providers doing district health board work, such as SCL, to automatically become a party to the sector's Multi Employer Collective Agreement (MECA). The private labs don't want to be party to a MECA, and the district health boards and the Blood Service don't want to be in a MECA with private employers

25th Apr - Another lab heads to court
Medlab Hamilton has applied for a judicial review of the decisions of Waikato and Bay of Plenty DHBs in awarding their community labs contracts. General manager Steve Soufflot says the company was considering legal action before the High Court judgement on the Auckland community labs contract. The claims relate to the processes leading up to the contract decisions and consultation, with a “different agenda” in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions. Western Bay of Plenty PHO is considering supporting the court review, saying, while the contract there hasn’t changed, the actual level of services has and there was no consultation about that

24th Apr - Audit of lab contract process finds room for improvement    Nelson health officials' handling of the contracting of the region's laboratory services left room for improvement in some areas, a newly released report shows. Health board chief executive John Peters said he was satisfied with the report as it showed the board's processes were sound, and there was no suggestion that what the board did was inappropriate or that any of the suggested areas of improvement would have changed the outcome of the tender process

24th Apr - DHB will make conflict of interest disclosure clearer
Tairawhiti District Health Board plans to make their conflict of interest disclosure a lot clearer following the recent laboratory contract debacle in Auckland, voting this week to update their current Disclosure of Interest documentation and to further discuss any specific conflict of interest training that may be required to avoid a situation similar to that faced by the Auckland regional district health boards

24th Apr - Health boards brace for more industrial action
District health boards are braced for yet another strike on Tuesday as industrial strife in the sector shows no sign of ending. An estimated 1,300 laboratory workers walked off the job early on Tuesday for 24 hours and will follow up with another day-long strike on Thursday in protest at the deadlock in their long-running pay dispute. Radiographers are continuing work to rule and rolling stoppages in their battle for pay parity and other key workers, including senior doctors, say they are poised to strike also. Medical laboratory workers at 16 district health boards, the Blood Service and some private labs are taking action over sticking points in talks with DHBs regarding pay, rosters and coverage issues

24th Apr - Lab workers ready to walk out again
Medical laboratory workers around the country say they are "immensely frustrated" at the lack of progress in their contract negotiations with district health boards and will strike again today and Thursday. Medical Laboratory Workers Union National secretary-treasurer Bryan Raill said yesterday, "The lab workers feel immensely undervalued by their employers because they're not paying us what we're worth. We're not asking for the earth." He said the DHBs had made a 2.55 percent per annum pay offer, but had coupled that with "savage" clawbacks on the hours of work clause, and no employment protection

24th Apr - Another laboratory workers' strike begins
Striking medical laboratory workers claim they need to be paid more to keep people in the industry. More than 1,000 laboratory staff across 16 District Health Boards, the New Zealand Blood Service and two private laboratories began more strike action on Tuesday for better pay and working conditions. They go back to work on Friday. Medical Laboratory Workers' Union president Stewart Smith says it takes a student four and a half years to qualify but the average age of the profession is around 50, with very few new graduates coming through

22nd Apr - DHB boss considering future
The community laboratory debacle which claimed the head of Labtests Auckland may also see an Auckland DHB boss step down. Health Board chair Wayne Brown says he will not be resigning, but he is wondering whether to stand again. He says the events of the last few months will have an influence on his final decision and 15 years in the job is "not a bad innings". He is adamant, however, he will not be resigning before the end of his term despite calls for him to do so

22nd Apr - Auckland DHB boss hints that he will resign
Beleaguered Auckland DHB chairman Wayne Brown has given his strongest hint yet that he'll resign amid persistent criticism of his board's handling of a $560 million lab testing contract. Brown has been pilloried in the media after the High Court overturned an eight year contract awarded to Auckland company Labtests, part-owned by DHB board member Dr Tony Bierre. Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell attacked Brown and deputy chairman Ross Keenan, saying "it defies professional and commercial credibility for them to remain in their positions." Interviewed by the Sunday Star-Times ahead of the publication of his new book The 5-Minute MBA, Brown was clearly fed up with the public vilification. Asked if the rewards compensated for the demands of public service, he said: "No, but I'm not going to do it any more."

22nd Apr - Lab debacle may claim DHB boss Wayne Brown
Auckland DHB Chair Wayne Brown says he is not sure yet whether he will stand for re-election at the end of the year – an interesting comment, since he was not elected to the ADHB, but was instead appointed by the Minister of Health. He is adamant, however, he will not be resigning before the end of his term – despite calls for him to do so

22nd Apr - More DHBs face action in Labtests fallout
Legal action is looming in the Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Nelson as fallout spreads from the Auckland District Health Board's laboratory testing fiasco. After the High Court last month overturned a $560 million contract award to new company Labtests, the losing bidder for contracts in Waikato and Bay of Plenty is seeking judicial reviews of the health board decisions. If Medlab Hamilton is successful in regaining its $22m contract in the Waikato alone, lost to a competitor in November last year, listed company Abano Healthcare may also go to court. It wants to overturn the decision by the Nelson Marlborough DHB last September to not renew its lab test contract

21st Apr - Pathologist in conflict over lab services
A Taranaki pathologist has been accused of a conflict of interest when advising the embattled Whanganui District Health Board on who should run its hospital laboratory services. Pathologist Dr Bert White is a shareholder of Taranaki Medlab and the Taranaki District Health Board's chief medical adviser. The WDHB'S planning and funding general manager, Tracey Sciebli, said it now proposes to appoint an independent auditor to review the process it used to select Medlab Central for both its hospital and community-referred laboratory services, saying that there was "no relationship whatsoever" between Medlab Taranaki Ltd and Medlab Central Ltd

20th Apr - Legal fight over Medlab blood test contract
Legal action is being taken against the Bay of Plenty's District Health Board over the tendering process for the region's blood testing contract – and local GPs are also considering joining in. Bay GPs have already sounded a warning that serious medical conditions could go undiagnosed after Medlab BOP introduced new fees from April 1. Under the new regime patients who are healthy but want blood tests done to pick up problems early on have to pay for those tests themselves. The DHB has already said the new Medlab BOP system was fair because health dollars should be used to treat sick people, not those who were well

19th Apr - No conflict-of-interest or lack of consultation in DHB decision – DML just has good PR    The chairwoman of one of the Auckland regional health boards that signed a discredited $560 million laboratory contract says the Minister of Health, Pete Hodgson, has not expressed any concern to her about the way the matter was handled. Asked who should be held accountable for the laboratory contract fiasco, Waitemata DHB Chair Kay McKelvie said she did not feel it was a fiasco. While she was aware that some members of the public felt there should be accountability, Ms McKelvie said she felt that Diagnostic Medlab – the company which won in the High Court – had excellent "PR"

18th Apr - Healthscope Appeals High Court Decision
Interestingly, Gribbles International's website still advertises that they have the Auckland community lab contract starting July 2007 (click here)... And they've still got a website up (click here)

19th Apr - Tempers flare over lab contract   * TVOne footage *
Tempers have flared at Parliament over the botched half billion dollar Auckland medical labs contract. Waitemata health bosses faced off with MPs determined to hold them responsible for the lab testing debacle and Waitemata DHB chairperson Kay McKelvie was grilled about initially awarding the contract to a company run by a former Auckland District Health Board member. "I came here expecting to be harassed and I was, so that's ok," McKelvie said

18th Apr - Legal battle over lab services
The Australian company Labtests has decided to appeal the high court decision stripping it of the lucrative contract, saying the resignation of its New Zealand boss has cleared up conflict of interest issues. Labtests spokesman Bruce Dixon says, "We really refute that it was inside information that assisted Labtests' bid because all the costings were done out of Australia." DML does not see Bierre's departure as having any affect on the high court decision. "I think the conflict of interest goes back...events now won't have any effect on that particular point of law," says DML CEO Arthur Morris

18th Apr - Healthscope pulls back in NZ despite court appeal
Despite launching a court appeal against its recently overturned pathology contract in New Zealand, Healthscope has started returning equipment from its new lab in Auckland. While market sources questioned whether the decision to return lab equipment meant Healthscope was not confident of winning back the contract, a company spokeswoman denied the suggestion

18th Apr - Labtests fights for contract after Bierre quits
Australian company Healthscope announced yesterday that it had bought out Dr Bierre and business partner Lee Mathias, who had a combined 22 percent stake. It has also laid off around 80 of the 126 staff Labtests had hired so far. Healthscope's managing director, Bruce Dixon, said "We're determined to win this contract. This would have been the beach-head for us. It would have given us the base to establish a large business."

18th Apr - DHBs rule out lab contract appeal
Waitemata DHB chairwoman Kay McKelvie says the boards have decided against lodging an appeal. She says the boards still would like legal clarification about their scope to make purely commercial decisions, but now want to focus on how they will approach future community lab decisions. Diagnostic Medlab, which has an interim lab contract for the next 18 months, says Labtests' appeal is unlikely to affect it

18th Apr - Auckland DHBs: We acted in the public interest
Auckland District Health Boards say they acted in the public interest in deciding not to appeal against a High Court ruling on pathology services. The chair of Waitemata DHB, Kay McKelvie, says the boards had to think of more than the commercial aspects of the case

17th Apr - Labtests CEO resigns     TV3 News footage
Dr Tony Bierre has become the first casualty of Auckland’s blood testing controversy. Dr Bierre, who was at the centre of a conflict of interest row, has resigned from his role as Chief Executive and Director of Lab Tests, the company which originally won the contract. Labtests’ Australian owners say Bierre has left because it is good for the company

17th Apr - Labtests to fight on for contract
Healthscope Managing Director Bruce Dixon says they believe the judge got it wrong in saying there was a conflict of interest with Tony Bierre's involvement in both Labtests and the Auckland District Health Board, and that Dr Bierre resigned from Labtests today as he felt the issue had become too politicised and that he was being used as a scapegoat

17th Apr - Labtests to appeal contract ruling
But it will do so without the services of former CEO Tony Bierre, the ex-ADHB member whose alleged conflict of interest played a key part in the High Court decision annulling the original contract. Bruce Dixon, the managing director of Healthscope, the Australian company which owns Labtests, said Justice Asher made a number of errors. "We do not believe there was any unfairness or prejudice against DML or any advantage to Labtests. Labtests strongly denies any conflict of interest with regard to the tender process or the letting of the contract."

17th Apr - Labtests to appeal High Court ruling
The company which lost the lucrative contract to provide lab testing to Auckland hospitals has just announced it will appeal the court ruling. Labtests says it will go to the Court of Appeal as it strongly disagrees with the High Court judge's findings on several key points. It wants the contract it had with the DHBs reinstated. Labtests says it spent $20 million in planning to take over the 560 million dollar contract from Diagnostic Medlab, which went to court when it lost the contract

17th Apr - Another labs provider heads to High Court    Medlab Hamilton has applied for a judicial review of the decisions of Waikato and Bay of Plenty DHBs in awarding their community labs contracts. The claims relate to the processes leading up to the contract decisions and consultation, with a “different agenda” in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions. Meanwhile Labtests Auckland announced today it will appeal the High Court ruling invalidating its eight-year contract to provide pathology services throughout the Auckland region. “We are going to the Court of Appeal because we strongly disagree with the Judge’s findings on several key points and are seeking to have the decision overturned and the contract reinstated,” said Bruce Dixon, managing director of Healthscope Limited, which owns Labtests

17th Apr - Attention diverted from the scandals
It is a political realism that the media and the electorate can cope with only one or two political scandals at a time. So when a Government is in disarray in a string of key portfolios, when ministers and officials should be shouldering responsibility and at the very least offering their resignations, what is the best solution? Throw more petrol on the fire. First, this creates a great diversion. Second, it means that while the media hounds are chasing in a new direction, they cannot cover all the others. It relieves the pressure. It buys time. And when the hounds return to the big issues, they are taking a second bite. By then it is second-hand news. The Auckland laboratory-tests scandal demonstrates failures of breathtaking proportions that should not only result in resignations, but in acceptance that Labour's health-board model is fatally flawed

16th Apr - Legal action contemplated
Medlab Hamilton has launched legal action against the Waikato DHB over its decision to drop the medical laboratory's services after January 2008, saying it was taking the action because it believed it was not adequately consulted during the selection process. Also last year, the NMDHB awarded Christchurch-based Medlab South its laboratory contract ahead of one of the existing providers, Nelson Diagnostic. Former Nelson Diagnostic director Richard Keys said on Monday that he and fellow former directors would watch the Waikato situation before deciding whether to take any action over what happened in Nelson, and that he believed the consultation process followed by the DHB was "flawed"

16th Apr - DHB bosses under microscope over lab contract
The role played by new Director General of Health Stephen McKernan in the regional lab services contract fiasco is being closely examined. Health Minister Pete Hodgson has decided what’ll be investigated and reviewed in the aftermath of last month’s High Court ruling that invalidated the awarding of the region’s $560 million lab services tender to new entity Labtests Auckland. Mr McKernan was CMDHB chief executive during the detailed formation of the contract, negotiations and tendering. The invalidated contract was due to start on July 1, while Mr McKernan left the CMDHB last July to take up his new appointment of Director General of Health

15th Apr - Bronwyn Howell: Unpacking the fiduciary duties of NZ healthcare quangos    Lesson 1: The farmer can hardly blame the fox for engaging in self-interested actions if he knowingly put the fox in charge in the first place. If only foxes are available to guard the hens, then a wise farmer will shackle the foxes with credible and reliable restraints. Lesson 2: The farmer sets the rules that govern the henhouse before handing it over to the foxes. When he discovers mayhem in the henhouse, he shoots the fox that broke the shackles, and shoots the other foxes because they failed to either stop her or alert him. But if the farmer fails to shoot any of the foxes, they can cause mayhem again. Foxes learn fast that the farmer won’t shoot even when they break the rules

15th Apr - Nelson lab firm may take action against health board
Waikato DHB is facing legal action over its decision not to renew a $100 million laboratory contract with Medlab Hamilton. A former director of Nelson-based Diagnostic Laboratory, Richard Keys, says it may follow suit because the selection process the health board followed was flawed. Mr Keys says a report highlighting mistakes made during the contracting process has never been released to the company, or to the public

15th Apr - Nelson Lab Watching Waikato DHB Lawsuit
A former director of the Nelson-based Diagnostic Laboratory claims that a report which highlights mistakes made during the contracting process has never been released to the company or to the public. Richard Keys says Diagnostic is watching the lawsuit by another lab against the Waikato DHB and may follow suit

15th Apr - Kiwi doctors aim for Aussie pay and perks
Senior doctors want a $50-60 million boost in staff funding to plug hundreds of medical vacancies, gaps they say are leaving doctors underpaid, overworked and more likely to make mistakes. The claim comes amid long-running pay negotiations and a week of high-profile problems in the health system, including the release of a damning Health and Disability Commissioner's report into a patient's death, a full-page advertisement from medics criticising government funding of the health sector, and the first days of rolling strikes. Health Minister Pete Hodgson refused to discuss staff funding and said doctor numbers were rising and the government had put several initiatives in place to keep them in the country. He said "it's very hard for me to say we have got anything resembling a crisis"

14th Apr - Waikato DHB Facing Action Over Lab Contract
The Waikato District Health Board is facing legal action over its decision not to renew a $100 million laboratory contract with Medlab Hamilton. It follows a High Court decision overturning last month of a half-billion-dollar contract awarded by the Auckland DHBs to Labtests Auckland. Medlab says legal analysis of that selection process and the recent decision in Auckland case have prompted a judicial review

14th Apr - Health board's logic defies rational belief
Is there anyone out there who thinks our own Bay of Plenty District Health Board has got it right in deciding to charge us for daring to keep ourselves healthy? It still staggers me that DHB chief executive Phil Cammish made the follow comment: "The public health system is about people who are ill, not people who are well." Does that also mean our health system has become about putting bandaids on weeping sores rather than solving the source of those sores? We are being told don't bother coming to us until you get quite sick then we'll try our best to get you better.

13th Apr - Marc Alexander: A lesson in F words
The current shambles over health including the threat of more strikes, as well as the mass exodus of experienced healthcare professionals for example. The government seems incapable of comprehending why, after throwing billions at the system and swelling the ranks of pen-pushers, administrators and ever more managers to manage management, better health outcomes remain stubbornly elusive. People are waking up to the reality that Labour's promise of a light at the end of the tunnel is really the headlight of an oncoming train

11th Apr - DHBs accused of driving senior doctors out of town
The Christchurch Hospitals' Medical Staff Association has accused DHBs of "driving senior doctors out of town", saying that if more is not done to attract and retain well-trained doctors, the resulting staff shortages mean that the people who pay the ultimate price are patients. Doctors feel their influence is marginalised in public hospitals, and they are completely frustrated by the enormous bureaucracy that has grown in the past few years. New Zealand could make a real difference to morale by re-engaging hospital doctors in the running of health services

9th Apr - Governance is all about trust
Most, if not all, governance failures can be characterised as a breach of a relationship of trust and a common cause of the breach is an undisclosed conflict of interest. A conflict of interest exists where the bearer of the trust might have their judgment, used in the exercise of their duty, impaired by another interest, usually private but not necessarily so. The word "undisclosed" is critical here. For example, merely identifying ownership of shares in a company without adding that that company would be bidding for a contract with the entity of which the discloser is a board member (as in the Auckland District Health Board case) is not full and proper disclosure. Trust is earned by hard work, diligence and loyalty. It is easily lost

9th Apr - Dominion Post Editorial: Avoiding conflict of interest
The problem stems from Labour's determination when it won office in 1999 to ditch the quasi-commercial arrangements that enveloped public health at that time and return some public involvement to its governance. The model had the added bonus of keeping ministers away from the hard rationing decisions that plague public health policy, allowing them to point critics toward district health boards if they had complaints. So the country is stuck with confusion. In the Auckland case, Dr Bierre has behaved, at the least, extremely badly; at worst, he might have broken the law. His fellow directors have equally behaved badly, however, especially once they learned of their colleague's plan to bid for the pathology contract.

8th Apr - Wayne Brown: It's been a tough month
The Auckland District Health Board stands behind Brown and its tendering process, and the court judgement "is likely to be appealed", says board member and semi-retired GP Di Nash. Brown says, "The lab test fiasco, if there has been one, has been the withdrawal of [the] labour of people doing the tests"

5th Apr - Perspectives: Canterbury labs efficient
Canterbury DHB member Laurence Malcolm says Auckland annual lab contract costs could be halved – to the tune of more than $40 million – through "managing" the number of tests ordered by GPs, by giving larger financial incentives to GPs in order to achieve the necessary changes in their behaviour

5th Apr - NZ Herald Editorial: Lab debacle - heads must roll
In response to the blood-testing contract debacle, the Government has asked the Auditor-General to investigate how the three district health boards of greater Auckland handle conflicts of interest. There could be no clearer sign that heads will not roll for the costly decision to award the contract to a company led by a doctor who had been on the Auckland board when the contract was being devised. Most people do not need the Auditor-General to tell them the boards have followed sound rules of public administration in this instance – the public waits to see someone demonstrate accountability

5th Apr - Labs fiasco? It was a great result says health chief
Auckland District Health Board chairman Wayne Brown and deputy Ross Keenan asserted they had done a good job, saving taxpayers' money. "If this was the commercial world," said Mr Keenan, "your shareholders might actually be saying 'Thank-you. You originally had a deal that was going to save $120 million [over eight years]; now you've got a deal that's going to save $10 million [over 18 months]'."

5th Apr - Denial is not just a river in Egypt
The Auckland DHB has expressed support for its chairman and deputy over the handling of the community laboratory services contract. Rather than resignations being tendered, the board extended its thanks and support to chairman Wayne Brown and deputy chairman Ross Keenan for their handling of the issue

4th Apr - NZ Parliament: Questions and Answers
MP Tony Ryall: "Would the Health Minister be surprised to learn that one of the senior Auckland District Health Board executives involved throughout the tendering process was Dr Dennis Jury, who was also project sponsor for Dr Bierre’s 2004 MBA thesis on contracting out laboratory services; and was the Auckland District Health Board advised of this close association by one of its senior executives?"

4th Apr - DHB Supports Chair, Deputy Over Lab Contract Handling    The ADHB has expressed support for its chairman and deputy over the handling of the community laboratory services contract. Rather than resignations being tendered, the board extended its thanks and support to chairman Wayne Brown and deputy chairman Ross Keenan for their handling of the issue. A new interim contract with Diagnostic Medlab was ratified, and Mr Brown said the outcome has ensured millions of dollars in savings. He says the real issue for lab testing is the coming strike by some workers.

4th Apr - Lab-deal fiasco spurs watchdog to look at conflicts of interest    Health Minister Pete Hodgson announced that the Auditor-General had agreed to examine how conflicts of interest are dealt with at the ADHBs. It is the second time the AG has been involved with the health boards in relation to the laboratory contract. The boards commissioned the AG's Audit New Zealand business unit to check on the lab contract request-for-proposal and tender – which it did, declaring it knew of no "departures from good practice or outstanding probity issues", but its terms of reference inexplicably did not cover the period when Dr Bierre was an active board member. MP John Key said, "Hasn't it dawned on the Prime Minister that by delaying any statement of confidence in the ADHBs until after the appeal process has played out, she is practically inviting those directors to lodge an appeal in order to save their jobs for at least a year, if not more?"

4th Apr - Auckland DHB Boss Welcomes Lab Dispute Probe
The chairman of the Auckland District Health Board is welcoming an independent investigation into the dispute over the region's lab testing contract. Board chairman Wayne Brown, who is facing pressure to resign over the affair, says a focused audit will be beneficial for all DHBs. But the National Party says the Government must not use the investigation to further deny Aucklanders accountability over the dispute

4th Apr - Surgery may be cancelled as lab workers strike
Patients may have surgery and outpatients' appointments cancelled next week as Medical Laboratory Workers' Union members walk off the job in their quest for better pay. President Stewart Smith says the union is into the 13th month of negotiations with no prospect of a resolution, as the employers were offering a pay rise that failed to even keep up with inflation. Laboratory scientists have to complete a 4-1/2-year university degree before graduating and entering the workforce – their starting salary is $40,000, which can increase to $46,500 in five years. "Salaries offered in other industries and internationally are well in excess of these rates of pay. We are seeking to adjust salary rates to try and retain this valuable workforce." Laboratory workers have agreed to provide "life-preserving" services during the strike

4th Apr - Lab workers plan two-day strike
NZ Medical Laboratory Workers' Union spokesman Bryan Raill said the dispute centred on three issues – protection of pay against contracting out, pay equity and control over scheduling. He said laboratory workers with a 4½ year degree were paid on average 16 percent less than nurses with a three-year university degree, and that the boards offered an 8.3 percent pay increase spread over 39 months, which amounted to only a 2.5 per cent increase a year. Raill said members were also upset about a proposed "clawback on hours" that would give them less control over scheduling and shift work

3rd Apr - Prime Minister: Labtests judgment could be appealed
The National Party and senior doctors have called for DHB leaders to be sacked after the High Court ruled that the DHB's process involved a conflict of interest and it failed to ensure the tendering process was conducted fairly. Asked at her post-cabinet press conference yesterday whether the Government was going to do anything about their positions, Miss Clark responded, "There is obviously a possibility of either the lab organisation which lost the contract, or the boards, or both, exercising their right to appeal the High Court judgment. While that is open, any issues of that kind have to be put to one side"

3rd Apr - NZ Parliament: Questions and Answers
MP John Key: "Does the Prime Minister believe that the Minister of Health exercised the appropriate level of oversight when the Auckland district health boards negotiated the contract for pathology services with Labtests Auckland; if so, does she therefore think that sole responsibility for any alleged wrongdoing could rest only with those who, in fact, signed the contract, in particular Wayne Brown and Ross Keenan?" Rt Hon Helen Clark: "Yes and yes."

3rd Apr - Accountability shouldn't be delayed
MP Tony Ryall said, "The Labour Government seems to be pulling out every stop to protect its appointees involved in the lab testing fiasco. "Obviously changes are needed in the way conflicts are handled. The High Court has said so. But the Labour Government should not use the Auditor General as an excuse to further deny accountability for the lab testing fiasco."

3rd Apr - Auditor-General asked to look at Auckland DHBs
The Auditor-General is to look into how Auckland District Health Boards deal with conflicts of interests following the recent $560 million laboratory contract debacle. In Parliament today National Party leader John Key asked Prime Minister Helen Clark if the government had sought legal advice on sacking the Auckland DHBs boards. Miss Clark said that was premature as the period where an appeal could be lodged had not expired; "obviously what is being explored is the full range of options, the full range of course goes from expressing confidence to people going."

3rd Apr - Auditor-General to look at Auckland regional DHBs
Minister of Health Pete Hodgson has asked the Auditor-General to undertake a focused performance audit to examine how conflicts of interest are dealt with in each of the three Auckland DHBs (the Auckland DHB, Counties-Manukau DHB, and the Waitemata DHB) under section 16 of the Public Audit Act 2001

3rd Apr - Health bosses' fate up in the air
The fate of the Auckland health bosses who presided over the medical laboratory contract fiasco remains unclear, as the Government stalls on deciding whether to sack or back them. Prime Minister Helen Clark revealed that questions about whether heads rolled would be put to one side until the deadline to appeal the High Court judgment expires on April 19

3rd Apr - Half a million spent on lab six years ago
Almost six years ago Medlab Gisborne was labelled an asset to the community, after undergoing half a million dollars' worth of renovations that saw the laboratory double in size. But Medlab’s doors will close in five months, with its 19 employees facing the prospect of leaving town if they cannot find work with the new provider of laboratory services for Tairawhiti District Health

3rd Apr - Lab profession ‘in disarray’
The restructuring of laboratory services nationally, and the lack of a national implementation plan, has undermined the whole infrastructure of the profession, putting it in disarray, says Medlab Gisborne manager Janet Willson. "A huge number of skilled laboratory scientists and technicians nationally are losing their positions," she said. "This will be particularly felt in provincial areas such as Gisborne, where recruitment has always been difficult."

2nd Apr - Lab tender teaches lessons
The decision emphasises the importance of boards having meaningful and timely discussions with those potentially affected by a proposed change of service, and the serious consequences of not doing so. However, the impact of this on boards' day-to-day operations should not be overstated; the findings on consultation do not amount to a sea change. The judge applied orthodox principles, namely that public bodies required by their empowering legislation to consult those likely to be affected by decisions should do just that. Most boards have developed detailed and sophisticated consultation policies to comply with that obligation without grinding to a halt.

2nd Apr - Health Chiefs Safe While Govt Waits Out Appeal Period     The jobs of Auckland’s DHB chiefs are safe for now as the Government waits to see if the High Court decision overturning the boards’ laboratory contract with Labtests Ltd is challenged. Health Minister Pete Hodgson had indicated he would deal with accountability issues once the three boards had secured a replacement contract, which they did on Thursday. However, Prime Minister Helen Clark said afterwards that issues around the board chairpeople’s future would have to be put to one side till the appeal period had expired

2nd Apr - Doctors tell health bosses to resign
Senior doctors have called for the resignations of two high-ranking DHB leaders, Wayne Brown and Ross Keenan, who deny rumours they are about to quit after the Labtests contract debacle. Auckland and the region's other two DHBs – also responsible for the contract – had wasted millions of the public's dollars, and their credibility would be lost if the two men did not step down. ASMS executive director Ian Powell said, "If the health bosses don't jump, then the Health Minister should give them a good solid shove."

2nd Apr - Health Bosses Must Do Decent Thing in Lab Contract Debacle    “DHB bosses most responsible for the debacle must do the decent thing and resign,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. “In particular, Ross Keenan and Wayne Brown must go. They displayed very poor judgment over the perverting conflict of interest influence, and gross ignorance over their responsibility to properly consult with those affected. The only debate in this disaster is how many millions of dollars have been lost. They must realise that it defies professional and commercial credibility for them to remain in their positions no matter what other positive contributions they have made. If senior doctors showed such similar poor judgment in their professional practice they would most likely lose their medical registration.”

2nd Apr - Hodgson must take action over lab fiasco
It’s time for the Health Minister to deliver accountability over the Auckland lab services fiasco, says MP Tony Ryall. “Despite a new contract being signed, the Health Minister will still not express his confidence in the greater Auckland DHBs. Hospital doctors are also calling for accountability. The High Court was very critical of how conflicts of interest and consultation were handled. This will be a test of how the Government views the behaviour outlined in the High Court judgement. Aucklanders deserve some accountability from those who put their medical testing services in jeopardy.”

2nd Apr - Bay of Plenty lab to charge for blood testing
GPs are warning serious medical conditions may go undiagnosed as Medlab introduces new rules that will see some patients charged for basic tests. As of April 1, GPs ordering tests from Medlab would now have to give a specific reason why they were being ordered – otherwise patients would have to pay themselves. Nothing may specifically be wrong with the patient at the time the tests are ordered, but GPs often want to check the overall health of a person and pick up any problems early. BPDHB says the new system is fair because health dollars should be used to treat sick people, not those who are well. But GP Dr Ross Ogle said the new regime was going "to be a nightmare" and patient care would suffer. "Probably two-thirds of the tests we request are a form of screening."

2nd Apr - Patients' care should come first
The truth is that free state care has been a sham for years. First it was waiting lists that didn't appear to get any shorter, then with the skills of a magician, the Government slashed the lists by referring patients back to GPs. They still didn't receive the required operations, but the numbers portrayed politicians in a better light. Contracting out can be bad – the recent Auckland medical laboratory contract fiasco is an example, but that was more a reflection on the DHB board members and their systems rather than the health system. When it is done well, it can cut the bill for taxpayers and give better outcomes for patients. Ideology is the reason why the private sector isn't used to a greater extent to treat the country's sick and infirm, and it is disappointing that it is so. Patients' welfare, not political dogma, should be the first priority

2nd Apr - Blood test charges unaffordable
An Upper Hutt woman's specialist recently found a drug they believe will cure a skin condition that has affected her entire body for almost 20 years. In order to take it, she needs to have weekly blood tests, but new charges for blood tests introduced last year mean that at $50 a time, she cannot afford the testing necessary to monitor the medication, which would greatly improve her quality of life. Previously DHBs paid for most lab tests ordered by doctors, but since November patients of private specialists have had to pay for their own

1st Apr - Déjà vu for two in DHB Labtests debacle
Wayne Brown and Tony Bierre will still be smarting from their defeat over the awarding of a $560 million contract to provide pathology services to three Auckland district health boards. But adding to their anguish over the judge's strongly-worded condemnation of the contract award to Bierre's company Labtests will be a sense of déjà vu. More than a decade ago, both were involved in another controversial medical testing contract negotiation. And while not ending as disastrously as the Labtests fiasco, there were enough similiarities to have pathologists in Whangarei wondering if they hadn't seen and heard it all before

31st Mar - Chicane: Minister admits Health System is riddled with problems

31st Mar - Denis Welch: For Pete’s sake
The judge’s decision having been released, tumult and confusion ensue. A crowd of health administrators, professional medics and politicians mill about centre stage. There is angry talk of appeals and recriminations. The shadowy figures of lawyers lurk in the wings, with calculators. Enter stage right National MP, riding a white charger. “It’s a bloody mess!” he declares, brandishing a grievance. “Someone’s got to be held accountable!” Enter stage left Health Minister Pete Hodgson, wringing his hands. “It’s unacceptable!” he cries. “It’s unfortunate. And it’s regrettable!” From this point the action, such as it is, moves swiftly to a denouement. Hodgson unwrings his hands for a moment to announce a Major Inquiry into this Clearly Unsatisfactory State of Affairs. It finds that there was a Systemic Failure and a Lack of Judgment coupled with Poor Communications but that no specific individual should be held responsible for the scandal, least of all the Health Minister, who had made every effort to ensure that Robust Procedures were in place

31st Mar - Jane Clifton: Slippery Slope
This episode points up a new fact of life about public policy and law. Parliament can pass a law, but those charged with enforcing it don't necessarily do so. And apparently that's okay. Auckland's district health boards, with the court-ordered collapse of their laboratory contract, are in extremis. They are accountable for potentially millions of dollars in court costs and catchup expenditure, because they failed at two classic duties that so many state agencies fail at: entering into contracts in a competent fashion, and meaningfully consulting the stakeholders in their business, as they are statutorily required to do

30th Mar - NZ Herald: Letters to the Editor
The mind of Ross Keenan is stuck in the darkest ages of Rogernomics. Laboratory testing is not wildly overfunded, as he claims. There are no millions to be saved. The head of the present testing group has warned of the costs of even the $10 million cut – less provision for growth, and growth there will be. Nor can Mr Keenan imagine Aucklanders are keen to cover legal costs of those board members who allowed themselves to be taken in by the Ribena-style hype of one of the contract tenderers. – Bernard Gadd, Papatoetoe

30th Mar - MP: Hodgson must stop ducking DHB confidence decision    Fresh from their mauling by the High Court judgment over a botched $560 million lab services contract, the three Auckland region DHBs yesterday announced they had rolled over arrangements with the existing contractor (DML, the one they had previously fired) for a further 18 months. No particular negotiating skill required for that – DML had offered such an arrangement in Court many weeks ago. Interesting questions will obviously arise about the future of Labtests Auckland. And, given the criticisms of the DHBs in the High Court judgment, whether Labtests seeks damages to help recoup many millions of dollars in losses

30th Mar - Lab workers' strike will hit hospital
Wairau hospital's 24 medical laboratory workers, who are now employed by Medlab South following a takeover last year, will strike along with 1000 colleagues nationwide during the short week after Easter over a long-running pay and conditions dispute. A Wairau lab scientist said union workers wanted a 12 to 13 percent pay increase – although the DHBs were claiming it was 20 percent – and had rejected an offer of 8.5 percent over three years from the DHBs. However, negotiations had taken a step backwards in the past month with NMDHB trying to exclude all 24 Wairau lab workers from any deal, despite the fact that it was the NMDHB's awarding of the public lab contract to a private lab which forced them to become employees of Medlab South. "They are effectively saying we can have no increase and no back pay and would have to negotiate with Medlab." The DHBs are also trying to change the contract so that working hours can be changed without the employees' agreement

30th Mar - MedLab union says cost-cutting may hurt service
The MedLab workers union says while it is happy the lab testing contract mess in Auckland has been sorted out, cost cutting could hurt the service. Yesterday the boards agreed that Diagnostic MedLab should continue providing services for 18 months from July - with Diagnostic promising to trim $10 million from its annual spend. Union president Stewart Smith says that will affect its ability to carry out the testing work

30th Mar - Interim lab services provider confirmed
Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB) elected member David Collings is glad the recent period of uncertainty has ended. “This has been an exhausting and rather disappointing process since the contract was let to Labtests Auckland, with many DHB members feeling left out of the process and gagged by confidentiality, which meant being unable to air some of the circumstances regarding this very controversial issue.”

30th Mar - Paula Oliver: Hodgson's choice: Sack the ADHB bosses, or back them    The Government is clearly uncomfortable that the region's health boards signed an ill-fated contract with Labtests despite the boards' knowing of Dr Tony Bierre's highly questionable involvement. But as calls for accountability ring loud in Mr Hodgson's ears, he faces a dilemma. If he moves to demonstrate he is holding health board bosses accountable by sacking all three of them, the upheaval could cause disruption in the health sector. But to just keep all the people concerned and move on would leave the Government vulnerable to endless political attacks. One way to deal with the laboratory situation might be to have one symbolic head roll

29th Mar - Fate Of Auckland Health Bosses Left Hanging
The fate of Auckland’s three health chiefs remains in the air despite the boards today salvaging an 18-month deal to provide the city’s community lab services. Health Minister Pete Hodgson said last week his confidence in the DHBs hinged on their ability to salvage a reliable service out of the overturned deal. National demanded in Parliament today that Mr Hodgson now hold someone accountable for the "fiasco", pointing to the government-appointed chairpeople, whose handling of a conflict-of-interest of former board member and bidder Tony Bierre was faulted by the judge. He again singled out ADHB Chair Wayne Brown, asking if his “arrogance and abrasiveness may have been a strength in the past but now they make him a liability because he doesn’t realise the accountability time has come for him”? Speaking on behalf of Mr Hodgson, Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen left hanging the future of Mr Brown and the other board chairpeople, Pat Snedden of Counties-Manukau and Kay McKelvie of Waitemata

29th Mar - Diagnostic Medlab wins 18-month deal
An 18-month agreement has been struck between Auckland district health boards and Diagnostic Medlab for the provision of laboratory testing services. It comes after a high court ruling reversing the transfer of the contract to a rival company. Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen told parliament that this will allow time for a proper re-tendering process. He says Health Minister Pete Hodgson will turn his attention to the performance of the board chairs and his confidence in them when he gets back from a visit to Australia late Friday

29th Mar - Medlab the only option for DHBs
Green MP Sue Kedgley said, "The DHBs made the only decision they could have made in the circumstances. Labtests had compromised themselves so thoroughly in the original tender process, they had disqualified themselves from consideration. We hope that the whole fiasco has sent a clear message to public servants that the boundary between their public role and any private interests they may have must be carefully respected, and that conflicts of interest are serious and will be treated as such by the courts. We also hope it has sent a clear message to all DHBs, that it is essential that all Board members are scrupulous in declaring any conflict of interest they may have."

29th Mar - DML Lab services agreement welcomed by Minister of Health    Health Minister Pete Hodgson today welcomed an agreement to ensure the seamless supply of laboratory services for the people of Auckland. Auckland Region district health boards, including Auckland District Health Board, Counties Manukau District Health Board and Waitemata District Health Board, today announced an agreement to provide laboratory services had been signed with Diagnostic Medical Laboratories (DML)

29th Mar - Laboratory services continuity assured with DML
The three Auckland regional District Health Boards advise that they have reached agreement with Diagnostic Medlab Ltd (DML) for the ongoing provision of full primary referred pathology services across the Auckland region. The transition to a new contract (effective from 1 July) will be seamless in all respects. The process of agreeing this new contract took into account clinical advice from the Chief Medical Officers to ensure patient safety and quality of service

29th Mar - DHBs reach deal for lab services in Auckland
ADHB CEO Garry Smith, on behalf of the CMDHB and WDHB CEOs, said he was pleased to secure an 18-month interim arrangement for the current level of service. In the immediate aftermath of the High Court decision Health Minister Pete Hodgson had left the door open to take action against some board members once an interim deal had been signed. MP Tony Ryall asked if Hodgson would take action against board members for mistakes in the original tender process, now that an interim contract had been concluded

29th Mar - Auckland DHBs make deal with Diagnostic Medlab
Three Auckland district health boards have made a deal with Diagnostic Medlab to provide laboratory services for the region until the end of next year. A statement from the boards said the deal would result in $10 million in savings for the same level of service, that current service levels, quality standards, turnaround times, and staffing levels would be maintained, that the DHBs would work to develop longer term preferred configuration options for collection services and that ignificant changes would be made only after consultation with community and doctors

29th Mar - Labtests website disappears

29th Mar - Health boss faces fresh attack
The actions of Auckland health boss Wayne Brown are under renewed scrutiny after the National Party accused him of ditching a convention of declaring conflicts of interest at all board meetings. In a tense exchange in Parliament yesterday, National's health spokesman Tony Ryall suggested one of Mr Brown's first actions as Chairman of the ADHB was to end the requirement to declare conflicts of interest at every meeting

29th Mar - Diagnostic Medlab to continue labs contract
Auckland was without a contract for community lab services after the High Court overturned a new contract with newcomer, Labtests, effective 1 July. DML’s contract is for 18 months and the company has agreed to cut more than $10 million over that time, without reducing services. In a press release, the DHBs say they will work on reconfigured collection centres in the longer term, however any significant changes would only take place after appropriate consultation

28th Mar - Judge says proper consultation critical
A High Court judge has told DHBs, in no uncertain terms, they need to consult with PHOs and the community on significant changes to community laboratory services. Harbour PHO chief executive Susan Turner says the PHO is pleased with the judgement, and that it confirms its argument there was no meaningful consultation on significant changes to labs services. Justice Asher did not consider that pressures of time and the need for confidentiality in a commercial tendering process were excuses for DHBs not consulting, and said the consultative process must be "genuine, and not a sham"

28th Mar - Hodgson and Ryall Face Off Over Labtests Debacle
Ryall: What has happened here is that Dr Bierre was involved in shaping all the thinking of the district health boards on the Auckland laboratory contracts. He knew how much savings they wanted to make. He knew the way the tender would be run. He knew what the expectations of the board were in the contract, and the board told Diagnostic Medlab something completely different from what it was actually thinking. Dr Bierre put in the tender and the Government’s hand-picked district health board chairman, Wayne Brown, appointed by the Government, signed off on that contract

28th Mar - ADHB Chair Wayne Brown apologises to Health Minister Pete Hodgson    Hodgson said "I have... received advice from the chief executive of the Auckland District Health Board apologising for the error [in misleading the Government over the date that board member and successful tenderer, Tony Bierre, stood down over concerns about his involvement] back then in July 2006," adding that the ADHB had received a written assurance from the Office of the Auditor-General that "all was well". The Audit Office has said that its assurances were "narrow" and not a full audit. Dr Bierre declined to respond yesterday, and police said they were not aware of any investigations into criminal offending

28th Mar - Government ethics queried over Labtests row
The Government is apparently still prepared to do business with Labtests, the company in which former ADHB member Tony Bierre has a 16% interest, despite calling his actions duplicitous. MP Sue Kedgley said that by allowing Labtests to retender, the message to public servants could be to conceal their conflicts of interest and use their public positions for private gain

28th Mar - DHB moves on labs fiasco at secret DHB meeting
After concerns were raised by elected members to the Times late last week, the Counties Manukau DHB meeting opened for the public for an hour on Tuesday to allow the people’s reps an opportunity to make statements. Some members openly raised worries over Audit NZ’s role, while most called for reviews of the methods to award contracts. One said he prefers to see “the commissioning of an independent view to see what has actually happened”, and another goes further, saying the health boards should be withdrawn from the contract award process, because “the whole thing is tainted” by the conflict of interest

27th Mar - Fracas transcript
MP Annette King: "Did the Prime Minister hear the comments made by Dr Tony Bierre on Radio New Zealand this morning when he claimed that he had always disclosed his conflict of interest, even before he was elected to the Auckland District Health Board in October 2004, and has she seen any evidence that Dr Bierre told the voters of Auckland that he intended to pursue a contract for his company if he was elected?"
That would be a "no".

27th Mar - * Fracas footage from TV3 (1:30) *
The Prime Minister climbed into Auckland's Blood Feud this afternoon, describing Tony Bierre, the man who set up the alternative lab service as "duplicitous, a double-dealer", and saying "I do not think there can be any defense of Dr Bierre's actions"

27th Mar - Fracas in Parliament over laboratory issues
Parliament's Speaker threw five National MPs out of Parliament today, during heated debate over Auckland's laboratory services. National interrogated the Government over last week's High Court ruling, which terminated a contract between Auckland district health boards and lab services provider Labtests

27th Mar - Did Labtests boss Tony Bierre break law? asks Prime Minister    The Auckland lab services fiasco has taken a new twist after Prime Minister Helen Clark questioned whether a key player had broken the law. Miss Clark also said she was "disturbed" by the actions of Auckland regional district health boards in awarding a $500 million contract when there was a clear conflict of interest. There would be further scrutiny of the contract and Miss Clark refused to express confidence in health board bosses - a clear indication that heads may roll

27th Mar - Labtests CEO Tony Bierre Broke Law, Hodgson Says In Parliament    Health Minister Pete Hodgson said in Parliament that Bierre – the man at the centre of the cancelled laboratory contract with the ADHB – broke two laws. When questioned about whether Tony Bierre's company should still be in the running for the contract when it's re-tendered, Hodgson said if he instructed the DHB not to deal with Dr Bierre, it would be subject to judicial review

27th Mar - * Radio NZ: Doctors are calling for closer co-operation with district health boards following the Auckland Labtests dilemma (mp3 audio, 3:55) *

27th Mar - Medical laboratory workers to strike
Medical laboratory scientists will issue strike notices this week after negotiating for 13 months with DHBs, the New Zealand Blood Service, Southern Community Labs and Medlab South. The workers are responsible for providing test results essential for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The union's president says DHBs have made it clear that sacrificing pay and working conditions is acceptable to them

27th Mar - Springlands blood testing fee scrapped
A Marlborough health center, which had to institute fees for taking blood tests when the new laboratory contract winner forced blood-testing responsibilities onto health providers, has now eliminated the fees after the NMDHB and/or Medlab South agreed to pay them extra for doing blood draws

27th Mar - Labtests chief's conduct appalling, says Prime Minister Helen Clark    A furious attack by the Prime Minister on the man at the centre of Auckland's medical laboratory feud has raised the question of whether legal action could be taken against him. Helen Clark yesterday wasted no time in fingering Dr Tony Bierre as the villain in the mess that has seen the High Court cancel a $560 million laboratory contract – leaving health chiefs scrambling to secure services for 1.4 million Aucklanders beyond July 1

27th Mar - Doctors Want DHB To Issue Interim Lab Contract To DML    NZ College of General Practitioners President, Jonathan Fox, says many doctors want the current provider of lab services, Diagnostic Medlab, to carry on until the situation is sorted out. Dr Fox says the DHBs must consult more closely with doctors in the future

27th Mar - Tony Bierre Broke Law, Hodgson Says In Parliament
Health Minister Pete Hodgson has said in Parliament that the man at the centre of the cancelled laboratory contract with the Auckland DHB broke two laws. The High Court declared a contract awarded to the new company Labtests invalid, in part due to a conflict of interest involving Labtests' head, Tony Bierre, who also served on the Auckland DHB. Questioned as to whether Dr Bierre should still be in the running for the contract when it is re-tendered, Hodgson said if he instructed the DHB not to deal with Dr Bierre, the instruction would be subject to judicial review

27th Mar - Far-reaching implications for public sector from Auckland labs decision  • If entities are looking to make significant changes to the funding or service model through their procurement, they need to be completely up front and "in your face" about it. • The courts are intolerant of self-imposed time constraints from procurers as an excuse for failing to meet consultation obligations. • Conflict-of-interest disclosure needs to be much fuller and more explicit than is currently common practice

26th Mar - Lab service ruling reflected in shares
A brokerage research company says Healthscope got a rude shock when the Auckland court ruled in favour of Sonic's legal challenge saying the contract was invalid, because Healthscope had been supremely confident that its tender bid would withstand all governance and due process scrutiny. Healthscope owned 77 percent of Labtests, the company that had been awarded the contract, with the remaining 23 per cent owned by its chief executive Tony Bierre. Dr Bierre, a former member of the Auckland DHB, was severely criticised by Justice Rayner Asher for seeking to further his own financial interests by his behaviour up to the awarding of the contract. Aegis says it believes Labtests has a low 30 percent chance of winning the contract when it is offered again at the end of this year. It lowered Healthscope's likely earnings a share by 2.6 percent and its forecasts for its medium-term growth expectations

26th Mar - Agenda Transcript - Pete Hodgson
Presenter Lisa Owen: Saving money with one hand so that it can be spent with the other is a fact of life when it comes to the provision of health services, but are we doing this as efficiently as we can? Have we got our priorities right? Now the Auckland DHBs were aiming to do the right thing with this, aiming to save money, it appears they just went about it the wrong way, so how does this whole saga highlight the dilemma of finite resources in the health system? Hodgson: Oh, it's kind of hard to take money out of health, and when you’ve got big-dollar contracts – this is near enough to a half-billion-dollar contract – people will rock up to the court with their Queen's Counsels and they will fight, that’s what's happened ... some process deficiencies have been discovered

26th Mar - Aucklanders deserve accountability for lab fiasco
MP: "If the Prime Minister won’t express confidence in Auckland’s health bosses following the lab services debacle, why should the public? Helen Clark must show leadership and demonstrate that she believes in accountability."

26th Mar - Prime Minister Helen Clark questions whether Tony Bierre broke law over lab contract  "What I can see is this – Dr Bierre badly misled the board. The issue in my mind actually (is), has he committed an offence against the law in the way he behaved?" She would not comment on whether the ADHBs had her confidence until a new contract was settled. "I think we'll deal with those issues after we've got the lab contract secured," she said, adding that the new contract would get further scrutiny. Then "we can delve further into why the board persevered with the process and awarded the contract in face of a very obvious conflict of interest. That does disturb me."

26th Mar - Prime Minister Helen Clark slams Tony Bierre's actions in lab contract row  Miss Clark said Dr Bierre's actions were "absolutely extraordinary". Asked if she had confidence in individual DHB members, she said: "I am not in a position to express it at the moment." MP Tony Ryall questioned whether the public could have faith in Auckland's DHBs, considering Miss Clark was unwilling to express confidence. "Aucklanders can't rely on the people who caused this shambles to fix the problem. Auckland's health bosses must be held accountable, not given the reins for another go."

26th Mar - Students worry that Auckland lab contract budget cuts will result in loss of training opportunities  Chris Kendrick from Massey University's Medical Laboratory Science programme says when tendering time comes around again, both parties are likely to trim their budgets. He says his students are worried the next provider will stop training medical laboratory scientists

26th Mar - Blood test pledge
People in Manukau are being reassured they will still have access to "first-class" community laboratory services despite a court ruling leaving Aucklanders in limbo over who will carry out their tests

25th Mar - Michael Laws: Labour should pay for Labtests debacle
the most remarkable feature of Justice Asher's High Court judgement last week was his clear and concise ruling condemning the three DHBs that got it so wrong, but also, by implication, the Ministry of Health, the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit and other central government monitoring agencies that let them do so... Which is why the Labtests result is so embarrassing for this Labour government. They had their pilots on the bridge. They had their appointees in the key health board positions. They approved the awarding of the contract.

25th Mar - NZ Herald Editorial: Lab contract fiasco should not have gone as far as court    It cost prodigious amounts of money that would have been better spent providing health care and it added a disturbing second layer to the bad management of the entire tender process: the failure of the people responsible to admit early on that they had made an obvious mistake and to rectify it immediately... It is beyond belief that no one in a position to call a halt to the process did so before litigation commenced

25th Mar - Lop-sided result raises concerns over the voting process of ADHBs  An "irrational" vote on competing bids for Auckland's medical testing services, exposed in last week's court ruling, has stoked concerns about bias at Auckland's DHBs. Three of seven members of a board evaluation panel dismissed Diagnostic MedLab's bid for the $560 million, eight-year contract as not worth the paper it was written on – while rival bidder Labtests, a physically non-existent start-up company, was given a perfect score

25th Mar - DML staff celebrate court victory  On Tuesday night, after the High Court scrapped a decision to award the multimillion-dollar medical testing services contract for Auckland to their fledgling rival Labtests, a group of about 14 Medlab staff and legal representatives partied into the early hours

24th Mar -'No structural problem with the DHBs' says Health Minister  despite the fact that the DHB's Audit Committee – a closed, non-transparent committee for which the minutes are not publicly available – is the place where the big decisions are made and where the early scoping of the community diagnostic service was carried out. In the case of the community lab tender, the Audit Committee was backed by a third entity, made up of the chairs and deputy chairs of all three Auckland Regional DHBs, who finally awarded the laboratory tender. These meetings were also closed to the staff, public and media and the full boards were not involved

24th Mar -John Armstrong: Lame-duck status looms large
the damning High Court ruling invalidating the $560 million laboratory testing contract could not have been timed better for National to sustain its strategy of painting Labour as a Government where accountability is absent, standards are lax and mismanagement is endemic... If Hodgson was kept in the dark about earlier concerns of conflict of interest, that will only increase the pressure on him to sack Wayne Brown and Ross Keenan, who are already in the gun for the board's "entirely inadequate" handling of Bierre's conflict of interest

24th Mar - John Roughan: Healthy challenge to lab-testing monopoly

24th Mar - Labtests continue limited media contact
Incumbent provider Diagnostic MedLab and Labtests have had their first meetings with the DHBs, to work out who will provide interim services from July. None of the parties involved would talk to the media apart from releasing short statements. This is the only way Labtests has communicated with the media since the announcement of the High Court's verdict throwing out Labtests' $560million lab services contract

23rd Mar - Tom Scott: Something fishy

23rd Mar - * Radio NZ: Auckland DHBs due to meet both firms Labtests and Medlab today (mp3 audio, 4:50) *

23rd Mar - * Radio NZ: Auckland DHBs will today begin trying to pick up the pieces following the community Labtests contract debacle (mp3 audio, 9:32) *

23rd Mar - Secret DHB meeting on lab contract set for Tuesday
Officials are not advising the public of the meeting. It’s a highly irregular move, as all district health board meetings are notified and open. Board members are instructed not to make information public regarding the meeting. The secrecy surrounding the meeting’s arrangements goes against what public health managers and leaders have been saying since the High Court ruling, that from now on, the process of awarding the eight-year $560m contract would be wide open to public scrutiny

23rd Mar - ADHB Deputy Chair Ross Keenan says Labtests gets to determine its terms for an interim lab testing contract    Top of the agenda is whether cut-price contract winner Labtests Auckland is willing to share the work. Ross Keenan, the Government-appointed deputy chairman for Auckland, Waitemata and Manukau-Counties district health boards, said he had been given no indication whether Labtests would accept anything other than the contract it originally bid for

23rd Mar - The buck stops with Health Minister Pete Hodgson
Where was the supervision of the contracting process? The Minister would have known that the Labtests contract would have meant fewer collection points, and that much of the testing would be done in Australia. Mr Hodgson has admitted that he could not give an assurance that laboratory services in Auckland would continue from July 1. This is unacceptable. He must guarantee, right now, that lab testing at the current level will be continued

23rd Mar - MP issues indictment of Labour's Health policies
The health system is careering towards third world status, reinforced by the Labour Government's acceptance of 'banana republic ethics' in certain District Health Boards

23rd Mar - Chicane: Pillage: Testing the patients

23rd Mar - MP: 'Why the hell did we have to wait for months of High Court proceedings to get to this point?'    It shouldn’t have been rocket science to see that the 1.5 million Aucklanders who were to have their services cut, and the sensitive and noisy GPs who were being told to conduct 50% of the tests without compensation, were going to have quite a lot to say. And if Pete Hodgson couldn’t see that coming, then Helen Clark really does have a problem

23rd Mar - DHBs meet with lab contract contender Labtests – 2nd meeting due later today with DML
A spokesperson for Labtests says talks with it, including its head, Dr Tony Bierre, were held on Friday morning with the ADHB. No further details were available

23rd Mar - DHBs to meet lab rivals over interim service
ADHB apparently contemplating giving all or part of interim lab contract to Labtests without consultation of GP and PHO stakeholders

23rd Mar - DML says it can continue to provide all testing services for Auckland
ADHB Deputy Chair Ross Keenan says they have an open mind on how the service should be offered in future, and that interim arrangements could take weeks

23rd Mar - Parliament: Questions And Answers    Peter Brown, List MP: "Does the Minister accept that a conflict of interest was evident when the Chairman of the ADHB made very disparaging remarks towards the staff of DML... and that Wayne Brown should be the recipient of his own advice and go and drive a taxi?"

23rd Mar - NZ Herald Editorial: Blood test mess: heads must roll
Tony Bierre knew what the boards were seeking because he, as the only pathologist on the ADHB, was instrumental in forming their expectations of savings, and poisoned their view of the incumbent's 'information asymmetry' and 'superprofit', while the judge found the profits of DML were in fact modest (see corresponding blog entry here)

23rd Mar - Health boards to focus on keeping up services
Wayne Brown defended himself and asserted he had no reason to resign from his post as chairman of the Auckland District Health Board, for which he was paid $87,688 in the last financial year... He said he was a success at running Crown agencies

23rd Mar - Health Minister Hodgson was told no conflict over labs
What he could not bargain on was that Dr Tony Bierre was prepared to mislead not only the chair and deputy chair of the district health board, but all members of the district health board

23rd Mar - Minister attacks Labtests founder Tony Bierre
MP and former Health Minister Annette King's responses suggest the Government is keen to cast Dr Bierre, rather than the chairmen of the ADHBs, as the villain

22nd Mar - * Radio NZ: In Parliament yesterday, MPs from all sides tried to cast blame for the debacle over the Auckland laboratory testing contract. (mp3 audio, 3:36) *

22nd Mar - * Radio NZ: Interview with Ross Keenan, who co-chaired the DHB group that oversaw the awarding of the lab testing contract in question (mp3 audio, 7:34) *

22nd Mar - Labtests head Tony Bierre denies misleading health boards    the Health Minister was advised that Labtests' head Tony Bierre had stood down from DHB business six months before the ADHBs awarded a lucrative contract to his company, when it was in fact only 18 days before. ADHB says it questioned Dr Bierre when it discovered his company was bidding for the contract, but he assured them his commercial practice was being 'mothballed'

22nd Mar - Govt accuses former Auckland health board member Tony Bierre of hoodwinking his colleagues  * Parliament video footage *
former Health Minister Annette King claims Bierre told the board his business had been mothballed, then sat in on discussions about the lab contract while planning to bid for it – a move that could have netted him a million dollars a year

22nd Mar - Govt Accuses Doctor Tony Bierre Of Misleading Health Boards    Despite this, ADHB Deputy Chair Ross Keenan says Bierre's company Labtests should be involved in talks to award an interim contract for lab testing

22nd Mar - ADHB plans to give Labtests part of lab services contract in interim, despite contract invalidation    Counties Manukau DHB Chief Executive Geraint Martin says he and staff are working with other members of the Auckland and Waitemata DHBs to arrange interim services for patients with “two good providers” – the original bidders for the $560 million eight-year contract, Diagnostic Medlab and Labtests Auckland – to be in place by July 1, removing “the emergency off the table”

22nd Mar - Labtests contract fiasco dominates Parliament
politics are getting increasingly personal in Parliament as the blame game continues over the Auckland community laboratories debacle

22nd Mar - Health Board Labtests fiasco points to flawed ideology
Even the smallest community board in the country’s most remote areas know the basics of conflict of interest... So when you’ve got a Court which concludes of Dr Tony Bierre that “throughout his time as an ADHB member he was interested in securing ADHB funding for his own laboratory, which amounted to an attempt to further his own private financial interests”, it is pretty damning stuff

22nd Mar - Rod Emmerson: ADHB medical testing fiasco

22nd Mar - Hodgson Refused To Involve Himself In 'Inside Job'
"Minister of Health, Pete Hodgson, was aware from the 13th of July 2006 that there was a conflict of interest over Dr Tony Bierre's involvement in the tendering of laboratory services for the Auckland region", according to ACT MP Heather Roy

22nd Mar - Corporate Management Expert: No excuse for health sector conflicts of interest    A corporate management expert has hit back at claims conflicts of interest in the health sector are hard to avoid. Bronwyn Howell, who is a specialist in corporate management at Victoria University, says that's just an excuse

22nd Mar - DHB head Wayne Brown refuses to resign
Mr Brown says he has a good track record in the health sector and took action the moment he found Mr Bierre was submitting his company Labtests for the contract, by sending a letter to Bierre. Unanswered is why he didn't pursue the issue when Bierre's "mothballed" company submitted a bid for the lab contract

22nd Mar - National MP says he warned DHBs about conflict of interest over a new laboratory testing contract    The ADHB says it questioned Dr Bierre when it discovered his company was bidding for the contract, but he assured them his commercial practice was being 'mothballed'. But MP Paul Hutchison says that after being asked in 2005 by Dr Bierre for a reference, he had told the DHB there was a clear conflict of interest

22nd Mar - ADHB Chair Wayne Brown says he won't resign
"Because of Wayne Brown's mismanagement of the health system in Auckland, many face huge disruption and millions of dollars of legal claims," said MP Tony Ryall. Health Minister Pete Hodgson said the judge found that the action taken by the three DHBs to address Bierre's conflict of interest was entirely inappropriate

22nd Mar - ADHB Chairman Wayne Brown stands firm over lab fiasco  Mr Brown has come under heavy fire for his role in the decision to move the contract to Labtests after the High Court found he failed to exclude then-Auckland board member Tony Bierre from discussions. Dr Bierre was involved in the Labtests bid for the $560 million, eight-year contract

22nd Mar - 'I don't think I should resign', says Ross Keenan, ADHB Deputy Chair  In his ruling Justice Raynor Asher said the DHBs' failure to prevent Dr Bierre's involvement damaged the integrity of their considerations and undermined public confidence. "[Their] failure to respond adequately to Dr Bierre's conflict of interest created the platform for Dr Bierre to use knowledge and information acquired from his ADHB position to make a proposal when the opportunity arose."

22nd Mar - Blood feud: In their words
"Fortunately, there is a world-wide shortage of pathologists – each is required to train for at least 13 years – and I will not have to retrain as a taxi-driver. But if it were my only option [besides working at Labtests], I would be out there with my Auckland street map" – Dr Claire McLintock, 12 September 2006

22nd Mar - Blood feud: The other players
ADHB Chief Executive Garry Smith was alerted to a possible conflict of interest after Dr Bierre e-mailed personnel at the Auckland Hospital laboratory seeking their involvement in forming a consortium to respond to the call for tenders

22nd Mar - Blood feud: The main players
Judge Raynor Asher said of Labtests' CEO "Dr Bierre responded to Mr Brown's reprimand by refusing to accept that there had been any failure on his part to address his potential conflict of interest. His response was consistent with a continued indifference to the conflict inherent in his role as both an ADHB member and a potential provider."

22nd Mar - Lab contract back on the table
MP Heather Roy believes NZ's community lab services sector has been dealt a severe blow, by making the pathology employment environment unstable. She says Labtests, in preparing for its July 1 start date, had by the end of last month hired only 8 pathologists to occupy 18 vacancies. “Some of Diagnostic Medlab’s highly skilled and experienced staff have already left New Zealand, rather than be left jobless, sacrificed over internal DHB politics."

22nd Mar - Medlab employee's euphoria over victory
Asked if she would work for Labtests if it ultimately won the contract, Diagnostic Medlab scientist Maureen Norman said: "Hell, no. There is no way on earth I would consider that." It is a sentiment expressed by many of the staff, who say they are staying loyal to Medlab. Pathologist Richard Lloydd said "We didn't get to the point of discussing employment terms. I don't think they can provide the same level of service as we are and I don't want to work in that environment."

22nd Mar - Parties squabble over lab decision
The government is accusing a former Auckland DHB member of hoodwinking his colleagues in a bid to secure a half billion dollar laboratory contract. Tony Bierre is at the centre of a row over the lab deal thrown out by the High Court, but the deputy chairman of the three DHBs involved is confident the service will continue. "The issue might be at what cost," says Ross Keenan. "I don't intend to resign, unless asked to." The opposition holds Keenan responsible for the debacle that led to the high court striking out the contract to provide lab tests for Aucklanders. His colleague, chairman Wayne Brown, is also in the gun, but the government is standing by him – for now

21st Mar - Auckland labs decision - what was it about and what are the implications?    DHBs (and indeed any statutory or public body) must be particularly aware of conflicts of interest. It is not sufficient for there to be nominal declaration of a conflict of interest in a register by referring to a directorship or shareholding. Rather, an explanation ought to be given as to the reason for the conflict, or potential conflict, of interest so that its true nature and implications can be readily understood

21st Mar - DHB head defends organisation against High Court indictment    The head of the Auckland DHB is trying this morning to defend his organisation in the face of a damning High Court indictment. Auckland Health Board CEO Garry Smith is refusing to admit the Board has blundered, and seems to be claiming conflicts of interest are widespread in the modern-day health industry

21st Mar - Radio NZ: Transcript of interview with DML pathologist Dr Richard Lloydd, who was directly affected by yesterday's High Court ruling     * (mp3 audio, 5:06) *

21st Mar - * Radio NZ: Health Minister says he intends holding three Auckland DHBs to account (mp3 audio, 4:56) *

21st Mar - * Radio NZ: Auckland DHBs to be held accountable after their handling of the community laboratory services contract (mp3 audio, 6:35) *

21st Mar - * Radio NZ: The NZMA has renewed its calls for the Health Minister to get involved in the review of laboratory services (mp3 audio, 3:46) *

21st Mar - Your Views: The future of medical testing in Auckland
Mike Gill: "If the DHBs want to involve both labs, the obvious way is to allow the requesting doctor to choose which lab she or he sends the work to. As of July 1st, both labs will have (they claim) fully staffed, fully equipped, laboratories and collecting services. Let them compete on service for the work. If Labtests provide the better service, as they claim they will, they will end up with the bulk of the work."

21st Mar - Health Director General Stephen McKernan's role in lab contract highlighted    Mr McKernan left the CMDHB in July to become Ministry of Health Chief Executive and Director General. He released a statement to the Times on Tuesday afternoon: “Given my previous involvement in this matter, it’s appropriate for any comment on this issue to now come from the current spokespeople for the Auckland boards"

21st Mar - National intensifying attack on Health Minister Pete Hodgson    Deputy leader Bill English told Parliament that Health Minister Pete Hodgson is to blame for the mismanagement of the half a billion dollar contract. He says the minister is putting lab services at risk, and has asked Acting Prime Minister Michael Cullen why he continues to have confidence in Mr Hodgson

21st Mar - National Party calls on Govt to sack DHB chairs over Auckland lab contract    Health spokesman says Aucklanders can have no confidence that the boards will get the process right in the future, and that the Government should hold them accountable by sacking the chairs and a regional deputy chair. Health Minister, Pete Hodgson, has declined to respond. A DML pathologist, Richard Lloydd, says Labtests should be excluded from an interim deal to provide services

21st Mar - Court decision indictment on DHBs
Health Minister Pete Hodgson says the decision is "regrettable", but his priority is to ensure that services continue from 1 July. However, he says he can make no guarantees at this point. National says the DHBs have been shown in a poor light and is calling for heads to roll. ACT says significant concerns were previously raised about the process, and Mr Hodgson should have stepped in to ensure it was fair and legal

21st Mar - Labtests Debacle Must Not Be Repeated
The shambles which has developed in Auckland over laboratory testing is more than just an embarrassment for the Auckland District Health Boards and the Minister of Health says New Zealand First’s health spokesperson Barbara Stewart. It demonstrates – if any further demonstration is necessary - the folly of having bureaucrats in charge of contract negotiations within a system that currently absolves the Minister from direct accountability for outcomes

21st Mar - Uncertainty surrounds lab tests
Thirty thousand tests need processing every day to keep Aucklanders healthy, and the DHBs now have 100 days to decide who will provide that vital service. DHBs say they are looking at the possibility of both providers sharing the work, but say it may not be the best answer long-term. Medical Association chairman Dr Ross Boswell says it would be unwise for DHBs to discontinue Diagnostic Medlab services when it comes to providing interim lab services. "We found that [a shared service] didn't deliver the efficiencies that a single focussed contractor could deliver"

21st Mar - New Zealand Nurses Organisation: 'The DHBs need to take a long hard look at themselves'    NZNO Organiser Christine Gallagher said, "Even if they are unrepentant, public consultation will be forced upon DHBs this year at election time. Aucklanders will no doubt want to have their say.” The process has been unnerving for NZNO members working at Diagnostic Medlab – some have even considered a career change over taking employment at Labtests

21st Mar - NZ Herald Editorial: Lab testing savings are still possible
Just about every diagnosis nowadays seems to require a referral for blood or tissue samples to be taken. Doubtless their diagnostic value is such that it would be irresponsible of doctors not to use them to the fullest, but somebody has to keep the expense within reason. DHBs must apportion their public revenue among all services they are obliged to provide and every saving in one is a potential boost for another. In this case their intent may have been good, but their methods were found wanting

21st Mar - Lab fiasco leaves health chiefs scrambling
ADHB chairman Wayne Brown's future is in the balance after the High Court criticised his role and Health Minister Pete Hodgson refused to express confidence in him. Justice Asher said Dr Bierre had been in a conflict-of-interest position from the time he started sitting on the ADHB in December 2004, and criticised Mr Brown for failing to exclude Dr Bierre from discussions over the new contract and not advising him that "his involvement in entering a proposal was inappropriate and impermissible".

21st Mar - Auckland DHBs vow to get lab services running
Auckland DHB chief executive Garry Smith says the decision will have far-reaching implications for boards. He says consultation will be needed over commercial contract decisions – and that will not be easy. GPs welcomed the decision: Dr Jonathan Fox from the College of GPs said he hopes it serves as a warning to other DHBs, and that the doctors' concern all along was the failure of boards to consult them or the community

21st Mar - Blood feud over lab testing
Labtests could potentially seek damages from the DHBs for money invested in its now-cancelled contract, but Kensington Swann senior lawyer Hayden Wilson said such an attempt would be unlikely because of Dr Bierre's conflict of interest in the tender process: "You can't rule it out, but it would be a hard road." A Labtests spokeswoman said it had yet to decide whether to take legal action to reclaim losses from the health boards

21st Mar - Medlab delighted at chance of lifeline
The decision by Justice Raynor Asher yesterday to declare invalid the awarding of the region's medical laboratory testing contract to start-up competitor Labtests effectively threw Dr Arthur Morris' company DML a lifeline. "It means that there's an opportunity to be involved in a future tender process."

20th Mar - * Close-Up on TV1 - Lab decision slammed by High Court (9:37) *  ADHB Deputy Chair Ross Keenan: I'm fascinated by your introduction. You said "A million dollars down the drain". But to save 15 to 20 million dollars a year, isn't it worth it? And shouldn't we continue?  Mark Sainsbury: But if the process was done right, you wouldn't have had to spend a million dollars to go to court.  Ross Keenan: We accept that. I mean, the judge has ruled. And we – look, we have absolute respect for the judge's comments.  Mark Sainsbury: So, isn't that a million down the drain?

20th Mar - New Zealand Medical Association: 'Applying strictly corporate processes to decisions in health is often inappropriate'
“Since 2004 the NZMA has been calling for a national policy framework to be put in place for the 21 DHBs which have been carrying out reviews of laboratory services, and making significant changes to suppliers in some cases. We have a pathology service that runs well and serves the population of New Zealand very capably,” Chair Dr Ross Boswell said. “This is being put at risk by the Government’s short-sighted reviews of services which have been carried out without a comprehensive national policy framework, and seem only designed to save money. The pathology service is already under-staffed in New Zealand, and decisions that are being made will have the effect of driving pathologists away from New Zealand, to countries where they can have much more certainty about their jobs.”

20th Mar - Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners: 'decision gave an important message to all DHBs'    Dr Jonathan Fox, one of the Auckland GPs who made a submission to the Court, said the College's "fundamental objection to the DHBs' original decision was the lack of consultation with the GPs and the community". Dr Fox said the decision gave an important message to all DHBs. "Making major decisions like this without proper consultation is simply unacceptable." Dr Fox said it was important now that all parties worked closely to ensure patient safety was paramount while things were sorted out

20th Mar - Lack Of Transparency Exposed By Labtests Decision
"Today's judicial review decision which set aside the contract for laboratory testing services in Auckland, citing a lack of transparency and insufficient consultation, should act as a warning to other DHBs and the Ministry of Health," says MP Heather Roy. "DHBs in Auckland took an expensive gamble by giving the contract to a company with no track record, no laboratory and no staff – a company which now admits they are behind on recruiting heads of department, and in late February had only recruited 8 pathologists to fill 18 positions."

20th Mar - MP: Who is accountable for the Auckland lab mess?
The top priority is to keep good quality lab services in Auckland. But there's no way Auckland can rely on the people who caused this monumental muck-up to be the same people who fix it. The unprecedented ruling of the High Court today means Aucklanders face huge uncertainty about the future of medical testing. Auckland's health bosses have put patients and taxpayers at huge risk. They have caused a colossal mess with lab testing in the region. Patients and doctors can't be certain what services will be available after 1 July. Nor can they be certain that the DHB's won't face huge liability claims from both the companies involved. The public wants accountability here.

20th Mar - DML welcomes judicial review judgment
Dr Arthur Morris, Chief Executive of DML, said "We are now looking forward to working with the DHBs on interim arrangements making sure Aucklanders continue to enjoy a world class community laboratory service that best meets the needs of GPs, patients and the people of the Auckland region.” DML succeeded in its claim based on conflict of interest and misuse of information. The Court also found that the Primary Health Organisations should have been properly consulted, and that the consultation that took place was inadequate

20th Mar - Health Minister Pete Hodgson withholds confidence in Auckland DHB after lab decision
The minister would not say the board or Mr Brown had his confidence – yet. "My confidence in the board will of course hinge on their ability... to repeat the request for proposals process – this time successfully."

20th Mar - LTA Press Release
Labtests says it has at all times complied with the tender requirements and requests of the ARDHBs and will continue to cooperate with the ARDHBs in any process to ultimately determine the award of the contract. Labtests will await further information from the ARDHBs and will consider its options once available

20th Mar - ADHB Press Release
The three regional health boards (Waitemata District Health Board, Auckland District Health Board and Counties-Manukau District Health Board) say they are extremely disappointed in the court's ruling but respect the judge's decision and will follow a prudent path to ensure services continue from 1 July. Justice Asher has upheld the complainant's claims on two of four issues: Dr Bierre's conflict of interest and a requirement to consult. As a result, the contract has been set aside

20th Mar - Labtests contract thrown out by High Court
The High Court has invalidated the decision of three Auckland district health boards to take pathology services away from Diagnostic Medlab. In a reserved decision released today, Justice Raynor Asher said the decision by the district health boards of Auckland, Waitemata and Counties-Manukau to hand the contract to Labtests was invalid

20th Mar - Judgment in favour of Diagnostic Medlab
The Court concluded that by accepting a proposal from the Labtests consortium, which included ADHB member Dr Bierre, the DHBs had failed to ensure the tendering process was conducted fairly. Dr Bierre, an Auckland DHB member for nearly two years prior to proposals, had been intimately involved in the deliberations leading up the selection of a laboratory service provider. The DHBs should have realised that the information acquired by Dr Bierre in the course of his DHB membership greatly advantaged the Labtests bid and thereby damaged the integrity of the tendering process

20th Mar - Court overturns Auckland labtests contract decision
Justice Raynor Asher has upheld two of four grounds of appeal by DML – that the DHBs failed to ensure that the tendering process was conducted fairly, and that the DHBs failed in their legal duty to consult with Auckland doctors. DML CEO Arthur Morris says the ruling is the best possible outcome and is extremely pleased for DML staff. He says DML would be happy to discuss continuing to do the job until a full and fair process can be carried out

20th Mar - transcript of High Court Judge Raynor Asher's decision on the Labtests court case

20th Mar - NZ Doctor's complete coverage of the Labtests contract issue    High Court judge Justice Raynor Asher had stern words for the ADHBs regarding their inaction over Tony Bierre’s conflict of interest and lack of consultation with PHOs in his judgment released yesterday, saying that both Dr Bierre and the DHBs should have realised his involvement in the tendering process was unacceptable. “The immediate reaction of quite a number of persons when first presented with Dr Bierre’s situation was correct: he was in a conflict of interest position that needed to be addressed. Unfortunately nothing of substance was done when those views were expressed.”

19th Mar - North and South: Lab-otomy: Auckland's Medical Laboratories Go To War    Was the awarding of Auckland's lucrative pathology contract to a non-existent laboratory a dirty case of "jobs for the boys"?

14th Mar - Labtests proposed laboratory floor plan

10th Mar - Foreign-trained doctors under the microscope
The downfall of a hospital gynaecologist after a string of botched operations has highlighted the risks involved in bringing foreign-trained doctors into our health system. Professional bodies representing surgeons in New Zealand yesterday expressed their unease about the difficulties faced by smaller regional hospitals in attracting qualified and experienced specialists, and supervising foreign doctors once they get here

09th Mar - Workplace racial discrimination on the rise

04th Mar - Pathology shortages in Australia hit cancer test times
Diagnosing cancer could take up to eight weeks, and blood transfusions in New South Wales could become unsafe because of a critical shortage of pathologists. The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) says the crisis is set to worsen in the next five years because one in four pathologists is nearing retirement and the State Government is not funding enough training positions to replace them

01st Mar - Medlab loss concerns local health professionals
A GP says the current service is "excellent" and planned cutbacks will adversely impact patients. "If cutbacks are made there will be a poorer service,” he says. “If they stick to the budget they'll have to farm [the testing] out overseas which will slow things down. At the moment we get lab results back within hours. The planned cutbacks by Labtests may also lead to the loss of pathologists due to job insecurity. Pathologists would get at least twice the salary they get here if they moved overseas. If their jobs are under threat, we'll lose a lot of good doctors."

26th Feb - Laboratory staff facing unemployment
Nineteen Medlab Gisborne staff are pondering their futures after learning that laboratory services in the area will be provided by Australian-owed Tlab

25th Feb - Clause 36 of Schedule 3 of the Public Health and Disability Act    A member of a board of a DHB who is interested in a transaction of the DHB must, as soon as practicable after the relevant facts have come to the member's knowledge, disclose the nature of the interest to the board, and after making a disclosure under this clause must not take part in any deliberation or decision of the board relating to the transaction, or be included in the quorum required by clause 25 for any such deliberation or decision, or sign any document relating to the entry into a transaction or the initiation of the transaction

24th Feb - History of bad blood in Labtests case
Medical entrepreneur Dr Tony Bierre doesn't like to dwell on his messy departure from the long-established Auckland laboratory service which his new company aims to replace. Although some who have worked with Dr Bierre are impressed by skills such as his business nous and his ability to work in a team, a 2003 Employment Relations Authority ruling – which rejected Dr Bierre's claim of constructive dismissal from Labtests' rival company DML – gives a different perspective on the pathologist: the picture that emerges is of a difficult, complaining employee. The ERA ruling spoke of the relationship breakdown that preceded Dr Bierre's departure, commenting that he was "far from blameless", that he had made an unreasonable, destructive accusation regarding a colleague's knowledge of pathology qualifications, and that Dr Bierre "was not prepared to listen to other points of view with any great degree of open mindedness."

24th Feb - Taxpayers face $1m bill for lab row
Taxpayers will be left with a legal bill of more than $1 million after a two-week court fight over a half-billion-dollar laboratory services contract. ADHB general counsel Bruce Northey said the joint district health boards had not reckoned on legal challenges to the laboratory contract – despite a 2002 report by Simon Terry Consultants, commissioned by the ADHBs, that warned drastic changes in the provision of Auckland laboratory service would inevitably result in litigation

23rd Feb - Labtests denies allegations of insider trading
When Auckland DHB chair Wayne Brown became aware that ADHB member Dr Tony Bierre had been pursuing a contract for his own boutique laboratory, he wrote to Dr Bierre saying he was concerned about his recent involvement in contract discussions and asked him to abstain from attending further such discussions. Dr Bierre replied he thought everyone knew about his conflict and he believed he was acting according to the statutes. He said he had declared his conflict at the meetings.As the matter wasn’t raised again, Dr Bierre believed it was resolved and continued attending meetings

23rd Feb - We will be ready, says medical contract winner
The company at the centre of a court battle over a $560 million medical testing contract, Labtests, says it can set up a community laboratory service from scratch before 1 July – despite having admitted publicly in court that it has so far only signed 8 pathologists for 18 positions

22nd Feb - Medlab claims double standard in contract bid
DML's statement of claim alleges that when the ADHBs accepted Labtests' tender, they also accepted a level of service lower than had been expected from DML, including such "significant" changes as a 30 percent reduction in the number of full-time equivalent pathologists (from 25 to 16), a reduction in the number of sample collection staff (from 293 to 161) and collection sites (from 80 to 43), a requirement that GPs take more medical samples themselves, and an increase from 12 to 48 hours in the turnaround time for "non-urgent test results"

20th Feb - Profits kept secret, say health boards    The provider of community laboratory services in the Auckland region has been accused of refusing to reveal financial information about itself, and of making huge "super profits" from its "impregnable" market position – despite evidence presented to the court that DML’s profit margin at the time of tender was below 6%, and DML’s final offer involved achieving earnings after tax of approximately 4.45% or 6.64% EBTA, while the Labtests Consortium proposal involved a higher profit margin of 12.6% UBT (see corresponding blog entry here)

18th Feb - Health boards defend decision to award contract
The ADHB have told the High Court in Auckland that the legal challenge they face over community laboratory testing is deeply flawed. The health boards say Diagnostic Medlab has searched for evidence of errors, but that the process of awarding the contract was proper and professional and the legal challenge is based on a series of misconceptions

18th Feb - Medlab memos revealed in court
Memos presented to the court by the ADHBs counsel show senior Diagnostic Medlab management discussed approaching politicians to help them get the contract back. Another suggested taking DHB bosses on a tour of overseas medical labs, noting the thought of an around the world trip might be attractive to those responsible for awarding the lucrative contract. It is unclear why this would be considered any less proper than the trips to other countries which were actually provided to ADHB members by Labtests

18th Feb - DHBs paint Medlab as poor loser
ADHB Lawyers have painted a picture of a disgruntled poor loser, as the courtroom battle for control of Auckland's medical testing continues. Diagnostic Medlab is at the High Court in Auckland, contesting the multi-million dollar contract awarded to newcomer Labtests Auckland. DHB lawyers say Diagnostic Medlab is obsessed with profit and ignorant of the boards' responsibility to seek value for money on behalf of taxpayers (see corresponding blog entry here)

17th Feb - GPs yet to learn of lab tests setup, court told
Doctors are in the dark about the workload and pay conditions involved with the new medical testing contract. Contract winners Labtests Auckland has promised to cut the number of medical collection points from 80 to 43 and staff numbers when it takes over the laboratory contract on July 1. The intention is that individual GP practices will pick up much of the sample-taking workload, but no indication has been given whether GPs would receive any compensation. For some GPs such an arrangement would be logistically impossible due to inadequate space and/or staffing

16th Feb - Health board checked member's interest 'too late'
The ADHB did not investigate until it was too late a board member's interests in the company that won a $560 million medical testing contract. On July 12 last year the board suggested a check be made to "qualify" the position of Dr Tony Bierre and verify that there was "no influence / no insider info". A day later, it was told the "ADHB and Tony Bierre have addressed any conflicts by an approach that exceeds all statutory or ethical obligations" – an answer the board accepted, despite the fact there appeared to be no documentary evidence of a full disclosure of interests

16th Feb - PHO gives evidence in DML court case
Harbour PHO has given evidence as an intervener in the court case challenging the awarding of the laboratory services contract to Labtests Auckland. The PHO represents those individuals and groups affected by and upset at the decision, and is seriously concerned at the lack of consultation. The significance of this goes beyond the community labs and right to the core of relationships in primary care; a failure to adequately consult creates uncertainty and is a breach of the DHB's obligations

15th Feb - Pathlab wins contract
The Waikato District Health Board has signed a multimillion-dollar contract with Pathlab Medical Laboratory to provide lab services in the region, it was announced today. It means one of the companies which now share the contract, Medlab, will probably have to shed about 80 full time jobs

15th Feb - Ex-board member accused of conflict of interest in lab
Papers currently before the High Court say pathologist Tony Bierre – then a member of the Auckland District Health Board – paid $83,000 for a 16.67 percent stake in a medical consortium that became Labtests, on the same day the ADHB awarded the consortium the $560 million contract

15th Feb - Garth George: Penny-pinchers' gain, our pain
We have become a nation of cheapskates, penny-pinchers and greedies. These are contemptible traits in any individual, let alone a society, but we seem to have acquired them in epidemic proportions. And the worst of it is that they are not just crippling our economic progress and stuffing up our lifestyle; they are creating a raft of social problems that are rapidly becoming intractable. There's the determination of the Auckland district health boards to dump DML, which has provided an immaculate medical laboratory service for as long as I can remember, in the interest of "saving" a piddling $15 million – which it won't, of course, because such "savings" never eventuate. Now you don't cut that much out of a contract without severely reducing services. But no one seems the least concerned about how this will affect medical efficiency, doctors and their patients, particularly the elderly, the infirm and mothers with young children. All the cheapskates can see is the false-economy pennies they've pinched

14th Feb - Lab contract 'will put pressure on GPs'
No account has been taken of the impact on GPs of a new contract for medical tests in the Auckland region, DML alleged in submissions to the High Court, and said that its rival's bid could be "wrong by millions of dollars". Labtests is proposing to cut the number of collection points for medical samples from 80 to 43 and slash heftily the number of staff. In its bid, Labtests said it could provide collection and transport of samples for $10.86m, a figure which is about 40 percent cheaper than DML's $27m cost, and which does not allow for the cost of GPs having to pick up the slack it claims will be created by the service cutbacks

14th Feb - Cash before patients, says ousted lab service
Lawyers for DML argued in the High Court that the terms of the Auckland district health boards' contract with Labtests Auckland were contrary to quality standards the boards demanded when they opened the tender process, and that the decision was made to save money, rather than to maintain the quality of patient testing

14th Feb - Fewer lab tests for Aucklanders under new firm, court hears    The High Court in Auckland has been told that fewer people will have diagnostic medical tests taken under a planned revamp. DML says that Labtests Auckland, which planned a thinned-down service relying on significantly reduced staff numbers and sample collection centres, would not be able to provide anywhere near as many tests as the 35,000 currently performed by DML each day

13th Feb - $560m health fight in court
DML told the court yesterday that the new contract would result in a significant reduction in the quality of medical laboratory service and "a corresponding risk to the health of the Auckland regional population", that the boards did not consult users of the service, were poorly informed, could not and did not ask the right questions, and pursued an unfair process leading to a bad decision

12th Feb - Lab contract dispute in court
A bitter dispute over Auckland's medical laboratory contract has ended up in court, with claims a change of provider threatens long-term health consequences. DML, the company which lost the bid, is seeking a judicial review of the decision which it says is tainted and fatally flawed, and adds that Labtests has no infrastructure, no recent experience of Auckland, and no prior experience of building and staffing within 12 months what will be the fourth largest laboratory in Australasia

12th Feb - DHBs accused of risking people's health over lab contract    Auckland's three district health boards have been accused of taking risks with people's health. DML told the court the boards have a responsibility to protect and enhance the health of the 1.4 million Aucklanders they serve. It said lab testing services are critical to timely, accurate and safe health care, but have been put at risk by the district health boards' decision to alter the service

12th Feb - Health boards acted outside their powers, court hears
DML is requesting that the Auckland laboratory contract with Labtests be set aside so the process could begin again with the proper processes followed, because the DHBs failed to consult users and were poorly informed. The DHBs were looking for a long-term, sustainable provider of medical laboratory services, but the figures showed that could not happen if the contract stood

11th Feb - Medical lab row goes to court
A war of words over the future of medical laboratory services for more than a million patients in Auckland reaches the High Court this week. Critics of an ADHB move to ditch Diagnostic Medlab in favour of a cheaper, new provider are seeking a judicial review of the decision. DML argues there is disquiet over patient safety due to Labtests' plans to cut staff numbers and halve the number of collection centres, but ADHB chairman Wayne Brown maintains the contract was awarded fair and square

07th Feb - Background: Auckland lab contract court case
In its report to Parliament tabled late last year the Select Committee stated, "The evidence we have heard gives us serious concerns whether the new laboratory service will be able to process 10,000 patients and 35,000 tests per day from the outset. If it is unable to do so, we believe this could have serious implications for the delivery of laboratory-testing services in Auckland"

06th Feb - Garry Smith - Lab service change not all about money
The CEO of the ADHBs says that they were fully aware of the significance of changing suppliers, but that the Labtests Auckland tender was considerably superior, and the company provided the level of comfort required regarding its ability to deliver. He adds that Labtests satisfied the ARDHBs that it could provide a quality, efficient service, incorporating innovation that will take community laboratory testing into the future

2nd Feb - Editorial: Community fears prove founded
Genuine concerns were voiced last year about the move by the Nelson Marlborough DHB to privatise its laboratory services, writes The Marlborough Express in an editorial. The NMDHB went ahead anyway, assuring that the services would not be cut. Now they have been, with laboratory services at Redwoodtown, Havelock and Springlands affected. One of those feeling let down is a board member and Redwoodtown Doctors practice manager who voted in favour of change, and who now laments that what they were promised and what they got were two different things. Judging by reactions from the doctors' practices affected, the best services are not still being provided, and in one case patients are now being charged for what was formerly a free service. These practices are now working to try to get these services reinstated

1st Feb - Lab services cut back
Laboratory services being axed at doctors' practices in Marlborough has led to an accusation that the NMDHB has gone back on its pledge not to reduce the service, following a controversial takeover. This week two doctors' practices said elements of the service had been axed: visits by a lab nurse to Springlands on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and three mornings a week in Havelock were cut completely in Springlands in November and reduced in Havelock, and a collection room in the Redwoodtown Village Complex, which had formerly been open 15 hours a week, was closed down after Medlab South took over

1st Feb - MP: Lab test apology needed
A Nelson MP is calling on the Nelson Marlborough DHB to apologise for wrongly assuring the public that there would be no decline in laboratory testing service standards when Medlab South became the sole provider of lab services in November in a move set to save the NMDHB at least $9 million over five years, and he has also written to the Health Minister "expressing serious reservations about the false statement made by the NMDHB". It was reported this week that suspected chlamydia and some microbiology samples were being sent to Christchurch for testing since the board chose last year to make Medlab South the sole provider of laboratory services. An independent nursing practice said test results, which used to take two days to be returned, were taking more than a week since Medlab South began the service

1st Feb - Concern at lab-test delays
Nelson sexual clinic patients could be unwittingly spreading disease while they wait extended periods for laboratory test results, a nurse says. Annette Milligan, of Nelson's Independent Nursing Practice, said test results, which used to take two days to be returned, had been delayed more than a week. The delays had come from the November changeover in diagnostic providers from Nelson Diagnostic Laboratories (NDL) to Christchurch-based Medlab South. Nelson National MP Nick Smith said the test delays affected patients and their treatment. Smith said he was angry the NMDHB refused to front up to a public meeting on the issue last June, instead issuing a statement saying testing would increase in Nelson and few tests would be sent to Christchurch. "It's corrosive for a public institution to spin a line on the public," Smith said

30th Jan - Lab tests diverted to Christchurch
Nelson's laboratory service is sending tests to Christchurch that were previously done locally – breaking a promise made by the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board. NMDHB chairwoman Suzanne Win said in June last year that all laboratory testing would continue to be done locally. She now says she was misinformed at the time and had since been corrected by DHB staff. Nelson GPs' spokesman Graham Loveridge said tracking down results from tests done by MedLab South in Christchurch was the "single biggest problem" with the restructured lab service. Results from Christchurch took a week to be returned, whereas under the previous service they took "a day or two". Sometimes Christchurch microbiology results would "temporarily disappear", Dr Loveridge said

20th Jan - Blood on the lab floors
Kumeu GP William Ferguson was "panic-stricken" when he heard that community diagnostic services were to be taken over by start-up company Labtests Auckland. He believes the decision is irresponsible. "Who are they kidding, saying this will happen in a seamless, painless transition?" Ferguson points out that the DML service has been built on years of trust, skill and experience, while Labtests has no experience in the stretched Auckland health service – and it doesn't even have a lab yet. Ferguson says Labtests' assertion that it can undercut the current service by $15 million a year, subtract 12 pathologists and around half the region's community laboratory staff without lowering standards "is blatantly dishonest"

30th Dec - LTA accuses DML of operating a campaign of misinformation    The company which is to take over Auckland's medical laboratory service in July is accusing the current provider of playing Russian roulette with the lives of staff and patients. Contract winner Labtests must recruit more than 400 employees before July, but chief executive Tony Bierre says DML is holding up the process by telling its employees a judicial review could reverse the decision on the contract, so many are not applying for jobs with Labtests. DML Chief executive Arthur Morris says it's legitimate for employees to hold on until they know whether the decision will stand

19th Dec - Labtest's update
The new laboratory is taking shape. The demolition of old fit-out has been completed and the re building has commenced. The data room has taken shape and is well ahead of the planned completion date. In the New Year we will be establishing a webcam so that all signed employees and prospective employees can see the progress at first hand. Interviews for all groups of staff have commenced. Labtests have employed a “super temp” human resource management team who are managing the recruitment process. This is a major exercise and many who have registered an interest and provided CVs will have been contacted recently

17th Dec - MPs express alarm at lab service cost-cutting
Nearly half of the country's 21 health boards are changing laboratory services, commonly moving to a sole supplier and in some cases replacing in-house hospital services with a private contractor. Medical and scientific groups have criticised the changes by health boards, which are trying to rein in laboratory costs. Many fear that forcing down costs and the instability caused by the changes will encourage pathologists and laboratory scientists – said to be in short supply – to leave the country

16th Dec - Select Committee Report into Auckland Lab contract with Labtests Auckland    MP Sue Kedgley: Can you guarantee that as of 1 July next year you will have a purpose-built laboratory capable of processing and reporting approximately 30,000 tests, up to 10,000 patients a day?  DHB Deputy Chair Ross Keenan: Nothing can be guaranteed – I would be foolish, we would be foolish.  Kedgley: Can you confirm a statement I read somewhere, that nowhere else in the world has a start-up laboratory handled 10,000 patients, 30,000 lab tests, from day one?  DHB Legal Counsel Bruce Northey: We don’t have that knowledge.  Kedgley: Wouldn’t that be important to know?

15th Dec - Review over lab contract delayed
Scheduled to begin next Monday, the judicial review of the Auckland DHBs' decision to award the community lab contract to Labtests Auckland will now take place in February. The DHBs say the fact Diagnostic Medlab (DML) went to the High Court with an amended statement of claim resulted in the delay, but DML says the DHBs had called for the case to be postponed prior to the amendment. The matter is heating up as the DHBs accuse DML of not being prepared to work with them on transition planning, while DML spokesperson Paul Ockelford says the claim highlights the DHBs' lack of planning for transition risk

6th Dec - Surgery backlog after strike
District health boards say the week-long strike by medical laboratory workers has had a significant impact on hundreds of patients needing surgery. DHB spokesman Gordon Davies says there is a backlog of surgery which needs to be cleared. He says delayed specimen testing and postponed elective surgery has affected a significant number of patients around the country

6th Dec - Lab workers' strike affects Health Minister's mother
The Medical Laboratory Workers Union members began industrial action on November 29 after pay negotiations with employers reached a deadlock. They want a 5 percent pay rise per annum, while the DHBs' offer delivered an average of over 5.5 percent over two years. During the strike acutely unwell patients had received necessary tests, while others had been asked to return once the strike had ended

6th Dec - Strike endangering patients including my mum - Minister
Health Minister Pete Hodgson has admitted that the laboratory workers strike has compromised the safety of patients, says even his own mother has been affected, and concedes the latest strike to hit the health sector had been more difficult than others

6th Dec - Lab staff return to work
Striking medical lab workers returned to work on Wednesday morning but they have not ruled out further action. Around 1,200 Medical Laboratory Scientists from 15 DHBs, three private labs and the New Zealand Blood Service have been off the job for a week. Medical Laboratory Workers Union president Stewart Smith says if they do not get a decent pay offer soon more strikes are possible. They want a 20% increase in starting pay and better conditions, but the DHBs say their demands are unrealistic

5th Dec - Countdown on till end of lab workers’ strike
With less than 24 hours until the end of a seven day strike by laboratory workers, Hawke’s Bay District Health Board’s chief operating officer, Warrick Frater, is reminding the public to see their GP first unless it’s an emergency

1st Dec - Lab chief considers Aussie pay option
Laboratory scientist Grant Moore admits to looking longingly at the A$80,000 ($92,000) he says he could earn in Australia. A 46-year-old with 23 years' medical laboratory experience and an honours degree, Mr Moore is paid around $58,500 a year by the Canterbury District Health Board. The idea of shifting to Australia with his wife and four sons is becoming more attractive. He said it has become difficult to recruit laboratory scientists because of the comparatively low pay. The average age is around 45 and rising

23rd Nov - Letter from Health Minister Hodgson to RCPA
Hodgson says the Clinical Training Agency's figures show that the number of pathologists in New Zealand is actually increasing, contrary to the RCPA's figures. The CTA figures, however, are based on training "openings", which may or may not be filled, and which will not produce fully-trained pathologists until after the next 10 years – and then only if the openings were actually filled

23rd Nov - GPs favour current laboratory services
A survey of the region’s GPs by independent research company Colmar Brunton on behalf of DML shows 92 percent of those surveyed prefer to stick with the current provider. Other findings show more than 70 percent of GPs were not consulted before the contract decision, more than 80 percent feel 43 collection centres is not enough, more than 75 percent of GPs are either unwilling or unable to collect blood at their practices and nearly 65 percent of GPs are dissatisfied with the suggestion commercial couriers can be used to collect samples from their practices

23rd Nov - Longer waiting times tipped for blood results
The head of an Auckland medical laboratory stripped of a huge contract by DHBs has warned of dire consequences if its successor is not up to scratch. DML CEO Dr Arthur Morris told Parliament's health select committee yesterday the worst-case scenario would be a "mess" – starting with a shortage of pathologists caused by many leaving the country, leading to delays in diagnoses, hospitals having to keep patients for longer, and GPs being pressured to collect samples

22nd Nov - Medlab heartened by survey results
An overwhelming majority of GPs have come out in support of Diagnostic Medlab holding on to the Auckland lab contracts. An independent survey commissioned by Diagnostic Medlab shows 92% of 300 GPs surveyed in the Auckland region would prefer the status quo. Diagnostic Medlab CEO Arthur Morris says the results will be sent to politicians and DHBs to show the strength of feeling; more than 70% of GPs were not consulted about the DHB's move, and the results confirm the view of the 120,000 Aucklanders who signed a petition calling for a review of the decision

22nd Nov - No guarantees on Auckland community labs
There are significant questions still to be answered about the future of community laboratory services in Auckland, says MP Dr Jonathan Coleman. Parliament's Health Select Committee today heard from Diagnostic Medlab that there are significant risks around the transition to a new community laboratory service provider by July 1 next year. "One of the biggest risks appears to be around staffing," says Dr Coleman. "Without the skilled personnel it is impossible to provide the service."

22nd Nov - Most doctors want Medlab to stay
Diagnostic Medlab is heartened by survey results showing an indisputable strength of feeling for it to hold on to Auckland's laboratory contracts. A Medlab-commissioned survey by Colmar Brunton shows 92 percent of GPs are against the awarding of the $560 million, eight-year contract for laboratory services to Labtests Auckland. Medlab CEO, Arthur Morris, says more than 70 percent claim they were not consulted about the move. He says the results confirm the view of the 120,000 Aucklanders who signed a petition calling for a review of the decision

22nd Nov - Research slams DHBs’ lab decision
A quantitative survey of the region’s general practitioners (GPs) carried out on behalf of DML by independent research company, Colmar Brunton, reveals that 92 percent of the Auckland region’s GPs would prefer DML to continue to provide community laboratory services for the Auckland region

22nd Nov - LTA not surprised at poll result
Labtests Auckland is not surprised at the results of the Diagnostic Medlab commissioned Colmar Brunton poll. The poll does not reliably present Labtests new and innovative laboratory service that will be provided to the people of the Auckland region. This poll tends to perpetuate the misinformation that has characterized Diagnostic Medlab’s response since Labtests was awarded the new contract to provide community laboratory services for an 8 year period commencing July 2007. Labtests Auckland will maintain or improve turn around times for routine blood tests

21st Nov - Colmar-Brunton survey on Auckland lab services

15th Nov - Medical lab workers strike about more than pay
MP Metiria Turei said, "The 1200 lab scientists involved have crucial skills, and they hold qualifications that take years to achieve. Yet the DHBs have left them at the mercy of mergers and contracting out processes that have caused redundancies and attrition among highly experienced staff. The entire community suffers when short term cost saving measures in the health sector are allowed to take precedence over stability of employment, due recognition of skills, and proper pay rates."

14th Nov - Hospital warned on laboratory's testing
Waikato Hospital has been told to prove testing and reporting at its anatomical pathology laboratory are up to standard, or face losing the lab's accreditation. One of the 120 laboratory staff said the situation was "perilous", and that over the past three years the hospital had been told to improve the quality of its accommodation, facilities, and reports, but it had done nothing. Six weeks ago, the hospital discovered its computer system was producing erroneous results. Up to 1700 medical reports were affected

14th Nov - Google Answers about Labtests Auckland
Asked about Labtests' prospects, a Researcher says, "So what was Labtests Auckland planning to do about a lab? It appears Dr Bierre was planning to buy the already existing facilities of Diagnostic Medlab, which previously held the government contract his startup managed to win last summer... 'put the other guy out of business, then hope he sells his stuff' hardly sounds like a solid business plan to me." Regarding Tony Bierre's 2003 Employment Relations grievance against DML: "I find alarming the judge's characterization of Dr Bierre: disingenuous, difficult to work with, ill-prepared to accept other points of view, and unreasonable."

10th Nov - 120,000 Aucklanders say 'no' to DHB's decision
In the four months since the announcement on July 14, more than 120,000 Aucklanders have signed a petition registering their disapproval of the decision by the three ADHBs to award the community laboratory services contract to a new and unproven provider. Many organizations, including the Auckland region’s GPs and specialists, the Royal Australasian College of Pathologists, the NZ Medical Association, Auckland Public Health Organisations, the DHBs’ own pathologists, the NZ Association of Pathology Practices, the NZ Nurses’ Organisation, the Medical Laboratory Science Board, the NZ Institute of Medical Laboratory Science, and the Northern Chemical Workers’ Union, have all expressed their considerable concerns about this decision

10th Nov - Lab firm may send some tests to Australia
Auckland's new laboratory company Labtests says it will consider sending patients' samples to Australia for testing if necessary during its start-up phase next year. In July, CEO Tony Bierre had given a public assurance about his company's services, that "tests will be processed in New Zealand, not Australia or Malaysia". Another possibility was to bring pathologists from Australia

10th Nov - Figures conflict over pathology workforce
The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia is renewing calls for action from Pete Hodgson to address pathology workforce issues. It claims the number of pathologists in New Zealand is declining and half the existing workforce is considering leaving. However, Health Minister Pete Hodgson says the Government's view is that the number of pathologists is actually increasing. He says the two parties are trying to reconcile each other's numbers and those figures should be available next week

9th Nov - Tendering of pathology services to Labtests Auckland destabilising workforce    The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia said in a recent letter to Health Minister Pete Hodgson that the ‘lack of adequate consultation with the profession over the changes had caused significant concerns’. They have called on the Minister to put a stop to further tendering arrangements, which they say are destabilising and disenfranchising the workforce. MP Tony Ryall said, “The upheaval caused by the tendering of laboratory services across the country is destabilising a pathology workforce already suffering from a critical shortage. This is happening all over the country and is causing massive upheaval, both for the patients and the people running the labs... there needs to be a national policy on laboratory services, with competition, workforce sustainability and quality objectives. Right now every DHB is doing their own thing with little cognizance of the effect on other DHBs and our national pathology capacity."

9th Nov - Ministers aren't doing their jobs
National Party Deputy Leader Gerry Brownlee says Labour Ministers have shown they are alarmingly out of touch with what's happening in important areas affecting New Zealanders' lives. In Parliament today, the acting Minister of Health confirmed he had not read an Auditor-General's report in which it is revealed that there is real difficulty establishing how large sums of scarce health dollars have been spent. In the same question time, the Immigration Minister revealed he had no information about an investigation into serious allegations within his department, even though the inquiry was initiated under his watch.

9th Nov - Response of Health Minister to Crisis “Inadequate"
The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia has yet to receive a satisfactory response from the Minster of Health following a meeting in October in which the RCPA raised serious concerns over the changes and restructuring of pathology services throughout New Zealand. “Of particular concern is the Minister of Health’s recent comments in Parliament that there isn’t a problem – in fact, he stated that the Pathology workforce in New Zealand is increasing at the present time, rather than being in crisis.”

9th Nov - Action on laboratories needed urgently
The Minister of Health must heed the warnings he has been given over laboratory services contracts before New Zealand heads into a disastrous situation, the New Zealand Medical Association says. NZMA Chair Ross Boswell says, “The pathology service is already under-staffed in New Zealand, and the decisions being made by DHBs will have the effect of driving pathologists away from New Zealand, where they can earn more money and face much more certainly about their jobs.”

9th Nov - Incompetent minister ignores AG's report
Acting Health Minister Damien O'Connor admitted today that he hadn't even bothered to read a critical report on health spending from the Auditor-General, despite answering questions on it in Parliament. The report, released this week by the Auditor-General, shows why the Government can't say whether extra health spending is achieving value for money. The report on the $3 billion health funding package introduced in 2002 says it is not possible to say where the billions of extra dollars were ultimately spent

7th Nov - District Health Boards seek urgent talks with DML
The ARDHBs say DML's actions are not only putting its own staff at risk but raise serious doubts about the company's ability to deliver on the community laboratory contract up until 30 June 2007. The ARDHBs have written to DML seeking urgent discussions to mitigate this risk. ADHB CEO Garry Smith says the ARDHBs are confident in the decision process which was signed off by Audit New Zealand, and that Labtests Auckland is performing well against its implementation plan to date and is ahead in many areas. The company has leased premises for its laboratory in Mt Wellington and expects it to be operational in May 2007, well ahead of the commencement of the contract on 1 July 2007. Contracts for the main laboratory equipment and IT system have been let. Labtests also reports that it is receiving a steady flow of enquiries about job opportunities, including a number from overseas

6th Nov - Labtests court case deferred
A decision has been made to defer until February 12 the court date for the legal row over Auckland district health boards’ multi-million dollar lab service contract. The three Auckland DHBs blame outgoing contractors DML of postponing the date by amending its statement of claim, but DML says it was the DHBs and incoming contractors, Labtests Auckland, which needed “more time”. “We were ready to go,” DML chief executive Arthur Morris says

3rd Nov - Lab defends claims it's being uncooperative
Laboratory service provider Diagnostic Medlab says until the court case regarding its contract is heard, it will not be helping out in any handover process to the rival company which has won the contract. The ADHBs are accusing DML of trying to block a smooth handover to Labtests Auckland, which has been awarded the new contract as of mid-2007. DML CEO Dr Arthur Morris says claims his company is being uncooperative are premature, as the court case is yet to be heard. He cannot understand why DHBs believe it is up to Diagnostic Medlab to help solve their transition process

3rd Nov - Fight over lab deal continues
ADHB CEO Garry Smith says DML isn't co-operating. He says the delay in court action only puts staff in limbo. He says Diagnostic is resisting work on transition planning and he is seeking urgent discussions between DML and Labtests Auckland. However, DML CEO Arthur Morris says they have no responsibility to implement what most Aucklanders and health professionals regard as a bad decision. He says any detailed discussions about transition will have to wait until after the court case.

3rd Nov - Hospital row with Medlab deepens
The three Auckland DHBs involved in the dumping of longstanding laboratory service provider Diagnostic Medlab have accused it of trying to frustrate a smooth handover to new provider Labtests Auckland. The judicial review into the decision was set to be heard in the High Court in Auckland on November 20, but is now postponed until February 12. The ADHBs claim the delay was a result of DML amending its statement of claim – but the laboratory service provider says the DHBs asked for the delay, "presumably to get their own case in order".

1st Nov - Labtest latest update
We are ahead of schedule in setting up the new service. Our laboratory is well situated: close to the motorway, close to public transport, and close to Sylvia Park. Renovation of this building will commence shortly. All major testing equipment has been organised including the computer system. The collection service is taking shape. Agreements to lease collection rooms are underway and many applications from phlebotomy staff have been received. Applications from laboratory staff at all levels wishing to join Labtests are being received at an increasing rate

31st Oct - Briefing on Auckland laboratory contract
Members of the Auckland District Health Board will appear on Wednesday to answer questions from Parliament's Health Select Committee in public session. MP Tony Ryall said, "National is particularly keen to find out how the local DHBs will manage the risks of changing from one provider to another. We also want an indication of what contingency plans may be in place if things don't work out."

26th Oct - Lab test fee for private patients may be NZ-wide
A plan by Wellington's health boards to charge private patients for laboratory tests is likely to be introduced across the country, raising fears waiting lists will suffer. Hutt Valley and Capital and Coast district health boards will begin charging patients for tests ordered by private specialists from next Wednesday. At present, laboratory tests for private patients are covered by the public health system. Wellington specialists have already raised concerns that the charges would clog public waiting lists and some patients would avoid having essential tests

26th Oct - Health woes taken to Parliament
A car full of Wanganui folk took their worries about the region’s health services to Wellington yesterday. With them went a petition with 6,678 signatures. It asks the Government for support to allow Wanganui District Health Board to retain paediatric services at Wanganui Hospital. The instigator of the petition, said she started it in early August when the board was considering transferring paediatric services to Palmerston North Hospital because of a shortage of paediatricians in Wanganui

25th Oct - Charging for private pathology tests flawed
The proposed rollout of private pathology charges will put further pressure on public waiting lists, says National MP Jackie Blue. "A significant proportion of Kiwi women diagnosed with breast cancer each year elect to be seen in the private sector in preference to the uncertainty of a public hospital waiting list. These women will now be asked to find an extra $250 for the additional pathology charges, and even more if they end up being treated for cancer."

25th Oct - Govt says charging for lab tests frees up cash
Moves by Wellington district health boards (DHBs) to make patients pay for laboratory tests ordered by private specialists would free up to $7 million a year for other patient care, Health Minister Pete Hodgson said

24th Oct - Anti-private patient ideology means growing waiting lists
Labour’s new anti-private healthcare move will see waiting lists grow as patients who use private specialists move back to the public system, says National Party Health spokesman Tony Ryall. The Government wants all DHBs to charge patients for laboratory tests ordered by private specialists, and Hutt Valley and Capital and Coast DHBs will be the first to implement the change, from November 1. Mr Ryall says this “blind ideological opposition” to private healthcare will see public waiting lists grow even longer. “Making it more expensive to go private will mean even more people go public. And that means even bigger waiting list culls in the future."

24th Oct - Changes ahead for lab test charges
A major shake-up could be coming for the costs charged for medical laboratory tests. Hutt Valley and Capital and Coast DHBs intend to charge patients for laboratory tests ordered by private specialists from the beginning of next month. Minister of Health Pete Hodgson is not ruling out the possibility of the policy being rolled out nationwide. He says the Wellington changes will occur first and there will be some learning from those areas

23rd Oct - Battle on for city's pathology services
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says the Wanganui District Health Board has bungled its decision to privatise its pathology services. The 36 jobs at Wanganui Hospital’s QLab are now up in the air as the board negotiates a contract with Palmerston North-based Medlab. ASMS executive director Ian Powell said he had “serious concerns” over the WDHB’s “seriously deficient selection process”, while the advice of health professionals in the hospital laboratory had been marginalised and ignored. “This includes the marginalisation of senior doctors’ expertise. “The recommendation to the WDHB was made by a group dominated by managers without experience in running laboratories and without objective clinical advice.”

19th Oct - Harbour PHOs to be heard in Labtests court case
Medical professionals seeking to be heard during a judicial review into the awarding of laboratory testing contracts by Auckland health boards to Labtests have won a partial victory. A judge has ruled that Harbour PHO can present its case during the review starting on November 20, but the GPs and specialists may not because of lack of evidence that their rights are directly affected

18th Oct - Intervention Judgement

18th Oct - High Court rules PHO may Appear In Lab Contract Dispute    The High Court has told an Auckland primary health organisation it can put its case during a legal challenge to the restructuring of community laboratory testing in the region. Numerous groups applied to be heard, but the court ruled that only those directly affected can do so and selected Harbour PHO to speak in opposition

17th Oct - Pathologists criticise DHB moves on lab services
New Zealand Association of Pathology Practices executive officer Mike Fitzgerald said today his members were very concerned about recent DHB processes and decisions that placed a huge stress on community pathology practices, pathologists, scientists, technologists, nurses and support staff. "Many highly trained health professionals are reconsidering their future working in the NZ health sector." He said the DHBs were treating community pathology as a commodity to be purchased, like a supply of rubber gloves or hospital cleaning services. "They do not seem to understand that community pathology is a highly specialised medical practice."

17th Oct - DML corrects misinformation put out by Labtests
• Labtests Auckland states collection is a GP/PHO responsibility; this assumes that primary healthcare staff have the time, resources and will to undertake blood collections – surprising given the lack of PHO and GP consultation. • DHB CEO Garry Smith says: “Auckland is currently over-serviced with collection centres compared to national and international benchmarks." In actuality, Auckland's per-capita number of collection sites is equal to Vancouver; Sydney's is 61% higher, Brisbane's is 74% higher, and Melbourne's is 85% higher. • Labtests' CEO says “one area in which Labtests could make savings is in the lengthening of the turnaround times of non-urgent tests, which were sometimes done more quickly than necessary”. This suggests that the laboratory, rather than the clinician, is able to determine in advance of testing which results are more important than others. This is a clear example of the new arrangement being laboratory rather than patient focused.

17th Oct - MedLab supporters appeal to courts
Individual health professionals and organisations have filed a High Court application to have their concerns heard over the awarding of the contract for laboratory testing in the Auckland region. A lawyer says there is such strong feeling surrounding the decision that the Medical Association, PHOs and individual medical practitioners also want their say. He says the applicants are concerned about the adequacy of the proposed services as well as the transition period

16th Oct - More medicos join lab legal action
The Medical Protection Society - which represents the Medical Association, several GPs, specialists and primary health organisations – wants to present its case during a judicial review into the awarding of the contract to Labtests. The society said it was not consulted properly over the impacts of the decision and was concerned about a potential loss of quality. It was also worried the contract's content would result in GPs having to choose which patients to test in order to keep costs to a minimum.

13th Oct - All change for the New Zealand laboratories
Legalistic process and devices such as probity reports have been used as a shield from criticism by DHB planners focused on reduction of cost and business risk. Cliical services consequences and clinical risk seem to have little influence on the final selection of providers. Compared with NZ, remuneration for pathologists in Australia is high, and employment more settled, so the trans-Tasman traffic is heavily biased in a westward direction. Pathologists and their practices contribute to medical care in a large number of necessary, but unseen, and mostly voluntary activities. When service reporting workloads reach the point where there is insufficient time or enthusiasm for optional tasks, pathologists will withdraw and retrench out of necessity. This will only become apparent after time, and re-engaging the disenfranchised will be very difficult.

11th Oct - Pathologists call for a rethink on lab contracts
Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia chief executive Debra Graves says DHBs are treating community laboratories as a commodity like laundry or food services – rather than as a vital medical service. Dr Graves estimated that up to 40 pathologists unhappy with the unsettled situation here are considering moving to Australia where there are more than 70 vacancies, and salaries are $60,000 to $150,000 higher. Pathologists are medical specialists who play a critical role in diagnosing cancers and other diseases such as diabetes and HIV from blood and tissue samples

11th Oct - Aucklanders react strongly to Health Minister's reassurances    DontRiskOurHealth.com founder Matt Crockett says that Aucklanders have reacted strongly on the website forum's to reassurances from Health Minister Pete Hodgson. Aucklanders agree with the NZMA and RCPA that the crisis is here now, and the Government needs to act before it’s too late. The Minister admitted the changes were unsettling, and could only reassure Auckland that it would be a satisfactory outcome if it was done well. The Minister has said it is up to the workers to decide if they want to work for the new company. “Loud and clear,” says Crockett, “pathologists and lab workers have said that they do not want to work for the new provider. Why is the minister not listening?”

10th Oct - Health minister says savings worth disruption in laboratories    Pathologists say they are prepared to quit New Zealand because of the uncertainty caused by the tendering out of public hospitals' medical laboratory services, further exacerbating a shortage in the profession. RCPA chief Debra Graves said she had spoken with 70 pathologists over the weekend, and many of them are indicating they are willing to leave New Zealand because of the lab contract tendering process. Mr Hodgson told National Radio said the pathologist shortage was being addressed and there had been an increase of trainee pathologists

10th Oct - RCPA: Pathologist problem urgent
There are concerns the Health Minister has not grasped the urgency of the pathology problem in New Zealand. The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia met with Pete Hodgson on Monday to air concerns over workforce issues stemming from contract tenders. CEO Debra Graves wants the minister to put an immediate end to future tendering arrangements. She is also asking for a National Pathology Advisory Council to be set up and framework for service delivery established by December. Graves says the minster told her he will consider the requests, but not yet. She says Hodgson doesn't seem to be sold on the fact there is a crisis in pathology

10th Oct - RCPA lab docs demand a halt to shake-up
Laboratory doctors are demanding a halt to the shake-up of community labs until an advisory council can devise a national strategy to guide changes. Chief Executive of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, Debra Graves, said patients would be the losers, through potentially delayed and poorer quality diagnoses, from the massive upheaval caused by the health boards' tendering processes. "There is an international shortage of [pathologists and lab scientists] and this uncertainty has led many to contemplate leaving New Zealand for countries where their professional services will be valued."

9th Oct - Lab services under discussion
Lab services are likely to be a topic of discussion this afternoon when pathologists meet with the Health Minister. Members of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia are due to meet with Pete Hodgson at five o'clock. Pathologists have already expressed concern about the future of the profession in light of contract changes such as the deal struck in Auckland

8th Oct - Uncertainty Prompting Pathologists To Consider Quitting
Pathologists say uncertainty surrounding community laboratory testing is prompting many to consider leaving the country. The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia has today added its voice to doctors' concerns last week that laboratory service restructuring by district health boards will threaten services and weaken the already-stretched pathology workforce. The college is to demand at a meeting with the Health Minister, Pete Hodgson, late this afternoon that the government halt any further tendering of pathology services. The college's chief executive officer, Debra Graves, says pathologists meeting in Taupo this weekend said they felt devalued

5th Oct - NZMA wants review over labs decision
The NZ Medical Association says it is time to review the decisions being made over laboratory services. The NZMA is concerned there are growing risks to the long term future of laboratory services. A requested meeting with the Health Minister has gone unanswered for two months. Chairman Dr Ross Boswell says one of the decisions they are concerned about is the Auckland Diagnostic Medlab controversy. He feels the current provider may not be able to provide a level of service until the end of their contract

5th Oct - Risks to laboratory services increasing
The New Zealand Medical Association has given a very strong warning to the Minister of Health regarding its serious concerns about growing threats to the long-term future of laboratory services in New Zealand in the light of DHB reviews around the country. “Laboratory services are an integral and essential part of a first world health service, and we can’t afford to get it wrong,” said NZMA Chairman Dr Ross Boswell. “At present, the future of laboratory services in New Zealand is uncertain at best.”

5th Oct - NZMA Wants Halt To Lab Contract Changes
The NZ Medical Association is calling for the Government to put an immediate moratorium on the implementation of changes to laboratory services. There have been a number of changes to such services around the country, and the association says it has serious concerns about their long-term future. In a letter to the Minister of Health, NZMA chair Ross Boswell says there is a complete absence of a comprehensive national policy for the provision of lab pathology services and as a result, DHBs are making decisions in a vacuum, based entirely on local factors and views. Dr Boswell says there are also quality and safety risks associated with the drive to find cheaper ways of delivering laboratory services, and implications for the workforce

5th Oct - Lab service reviews pose serious risk - Medical Association
DHBs are putting the health system at risk over their reviews of laboratory services, the NZMA claims. In a letter to Health Minister Pete Hodgson, NZMA chairman Ross Boswell said there were serious concerns about the growing threats to the long-term future and sustainability of laboratory services in New Zealand, and asked Mr Hodgson to carry out an independent ministerial review in order to stop the uncertainty and instability the process had caused. "The hands-off approach by the Ministry of Health and the fragmented decentralised way the reviews are happening pose a number of serious risks, including the lack of a safeguard for the national interest. Decisions made for local reasons could have disastrous national consequences. A cost reduction approach by the deficit-ridden DHBs risks the sacrifice of quality and safety."

2nd Oct - Labtest announce lab location - Lab floorplan - Artists mock up

27th Sep - Protestors rally against decision
Hundreds of protesters, including representatives from outgoing lab service provider Diagnostic Medlab, the New Zealand Nurse’s Organisation and the Northern Chemical Workers’ Union gathered outside a Counties Manukau District Health Board meeting on Tuesday as DML continued its fight over the awarding of a multi-million dollar contract to a rival company. Howick GP John Malcomson says the contract decision is “destructive”, “irrational” and will “serve the population badly”

26th Sep - Aucklanders rally behind Medlab
More than 100,000 Aucklanders have rallied behind dumped medical lab contractor Diagnostic Medlab. Their petition was presented to Counties Manukau DHB members on Tuesday asking them and Auckland's two other DHBs to reconsider their decision to replace Medlab's services with a new provider, Labtests Auckland. "I don't think I can remember a time when the profession and our patients were so united. This decision really needs to be overturned," says DML supporter Dr John Malcomson

26th Sep - Health workers urge Counties-Manukau DHB to save community pathology    Auckland is in the midst of a health workforce exodus right now. The pathologists and staff at DML have clearly said they would rather retire or move out of Auckland than work for the new cut-price provider. The bureaucrat’s response has been to tell them they can work for the new provider or 'drive a taxi'. Now Auckland faces the reality that we will lose many highly skilled health professionals to wealthier countries offering better pay and work environments. There is no such thing as a cheap job, quick job, and a good job. Labtests have said they will build a cheaper service from scratch, in one year, better than the incumbent. They are offering workers a cut-price environment and lab set inside ‘any suitable factory building’

25th Sep - Rising workforce exodus threatens health systems
WHO’s Regional Committee for the Western Pacific was told that public health services in some countries risked being brought to their knees by the continuing exodus of health workers to wealthier nations. At the same time, health workers who stay behind when their colleagues emigrate face increasing workloads and a loss of morale. As a consequence, hard-won gains in health may be reversed as serious workforce shortages leave many countries without the capacity and support needed to mount effective responses to health problems

21st Sep - Pathology Collectors Course - 28th and 29th October

21st Sep - Boards not swayed by Diagnostic petition
The ADHBs are "neither surprised nor swayed" by a 100,000-strong petition asking for a reconsideration of the awarding of the Auckland laboratory services contract to Labtests. Claire McLintock, a DML pathologist, questions the sense in awarding the responsibility of public health to a company that "only exists on paper, has no laboratory, staff or equipment yet, and has to be functioning in 10 months time with no proven track record". Dr McLintock is looking for employment overseas

16th Sep - Educating GPs helped decide new contract
The boards' labs project director, Bruce Gollop, said: " ... Auckland Pathology Consortium [now called Labtests] demonstrated a greater understanding and willingness to engage in measures to educate test orderers [GPs and others] on appropriate ordering, test utilisation and education efforts to control demand."

16th Sep - The Listener: Letter to the Editor by Chris Rowe
Thank you for your investigation into the very strange and disturbing case of Auckland’s pathology contract, where the highly regarded Diagnostic Medlab has lost its contract in favour of Labtests, an organisation with no labs and no staff. The crowd with no labs and no staff take over in July 2007, by which time most of the pathologists and other loyal Diagnostic staff will have deserted New Zealand.

13th Sep - The Listener: Letter to the Editor by Dr Richard Lloydd
In the September 2 issue my former colleague Tony Bierre, CEO of Labtests Auckland, says of pathologists, “They’ve nowhere to go. They try to manipulate the whole process to their ends, they threaten to resign and they go home and the wife says, ‘I’m not going, I’m not leaving.’” To Bierre I say that my wife is intelligent, has a firm grasp of the issue and entirely supports my decision never to be an employee of Labtests. Bierre’s statement about pathologists illustrates only too well the contempt he has for his former colleagues.

12th Sep - 100,000 Aucklanders say no to DHBs' decision
“On one hand, we have 100,000 Aucklanders who have signed the petition, more than 95 percent of GPs as measured in a survey conducted by the College of General Practitioners, the DHBs’ own pathologists, the Nurses’ Organisation, the Medical Laboratory Science Board, the New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science, and the Northern Chemical Workers’ Union all saying this is a really bad decision. On the other hand, we have six people – the chairpersons and chief executives of the three DHBs – continuing to defend what is patently a bad decision. Who’s out of step here?” DML CEO Dr Arthur Morris said

11th Sep - Waitemata DHBs' turn to receive 100,000 signature petition    The ADHB refused to accept the petition at first, and when they eventually did receive it, ADHB chairman Wayne Brown dismissed it out-of-hand. His inflammatory comments suggesting that pathologists who chose not to work for the new provider could become taxi drivers are irresponsible and offensive. Taxi drivers and pathologists deserve a public apology. The bureaucrats cannot continue to ignore the public, medical experts, professional Colleges and unions who were all left out of the decision-making process. Since the announcement, these groups have put forward many compelling reasons why there should be a review. If there had been genuine consultation with stakeholders it is highly likely a different decision would have been made

8th Sep - Protesters take lab battle onto street
American pathologist Dr Jeffrey Winslow came to New Zealand in April to work for DML. He took a 40 percent pay cut but was attracted for lifestyle reasons. Dr Winslow has vowed not to work for Auckland's controversial new medical laboratory. "I'm applying for licensure in Australia right now," Dr Winslow said yesterday amid a protest against the awarding of the community laboratory contract to Labtests Auckland. "A lab this size cannot be created overnight. A lab that's struggling to get going, that's understaffed, that's overwhelmed – which is what I think Labtests Auckland will be – is not an environment in which I care to work."

8th Sep - Health system in a state of ill-health
“The call from 100,000 New Zealanders signing a petition over the loss of the contract should be listened to,” said Maori Party health spokesperson, Tariana Turia. “The Auckland community said it all on their placards, ‘the DHBs have got it wrong’,” about the decision by the ADHBs to award the contract for the provision of community laboratory services to Labtests Auckland

7th Sep - Doctors protest over Auckland lab deal
A group of 200 doctors and nurses have protested outside Auckland Hospital over a health board decision to ditch the city's major laboratory provider. They say the dumping of DML in favour of a firm with no current Auckland facilities could see patients' health suffer, and that the board is saving money at the cost of the health of the public. Many diagnostic staff such as pathologist Edward Theakston say they won't work for Labtests. He told One News he would "probably rather look for jobs overseas".

7th Sep - New lab testing company ahead of schedule
The company set to take over from Diagnostic Medlab says it is already ahead of target in its plans. Labtests' chief executive Tony Bierre says recruitment starts in earnest this month, but already the company has had interest from one third of the required staff, including employees of Diagnostic Medlab. He says the company is busy identifying necessary buildings and the tender process has started for the provision of equipment

7th Sep - ADHB Press Release
The Auckland regional District Health Boards (ARDHBs) are neither surprised nor swayed by a petition that was presented this morning on the awarding of the community laboratory contract to a new provider. "We are not surprised by the number of people who have signed the petition, given the level of misleading and incorrect information that has been, and continues to be, circulated" says ADHB Chairman Wayne Brown

7th Sep - Workers hand over petition
Disgruntled workers from Diagnostic Medlab have handed the Auckland District Health Board a petition with around 100,000 signatures opposing changes to laboratory testing services. Staff angry about the loss of the $560 million, eight-year contract to Australian-owned company Labtests, held a noisy protest at Auckland City Hospital, where the DHB was holding a meeting. They were initially told they would not be allowed to present the petition, but it was eventually accepted

7th Sep - Medlab petition presented to DHB
Around 200 DML employees and other supporters gathered to protest against the decision to award the contract for the region's three DHBs to another provider. Waving placards and chanting "the DHBs have got it wrong", lab workers were protesting a decision by Auckland's three District Health Boards not to renew Diagnostic MedLab's contract

7th Sep - Bill will increase DHB accountability
HealthCare Providers New Zealand has asked all political parties to support a Bill to amend the Official Information Act to include DHBNZ, which is funded through taxes from District Health Boards, thus requiring greater accountability from those DHBs. DHBNZ carries out negotiations on behalf of all DHBs and makes decisions which impact on all New Zealanders – yet the public cannot find out what this group does because it is not subject to the OIA

7th Sep - Lab petition handed to DHB
DML workers have handed over a petition with around 100,000 signatures of disgruntled Aucklanders to the Auckland District Health Board. The board initially would not accept the petition, saying they might consider it in a couple of weeks. However, they later decided to go ahead and accept the petition. ADHB Chairman Wayne Brown says the workers need to realise the decision has been made and there is little chance of it changing

7th Sep - Medlab staff told to face the facts
The Auckland District Health Board says workers at Diagnostic Medlab need to face up to the fact their company has lost its laboratory testing contract. ADHB Chairman Wayne Brown says Labtest Auckland has got the new deal and that is not going to change. He says things have moved on and maybe workers at Medlab should have put more into the tender before the decision was made rather than after

7th Sep - Lab protests underway
Some 200 people today picketed a meeting of the ADHB to protest changes to laboratory services. The ADHB had refused permission for a presentation by the backers of a petition signed by 100,000 calling on the region's three district health boards to reconsider the decision to end Medlab's community laboratory contract in favour of Labtest Auckland. The NZ Medical Association fears the changes nationally will drive some pathologists away from what is already a short-staffed workforce

5th Sep - ADHB denies 100,000 Aucklanders the opportunity to be heard
Diagnostic Medlab staff are angry that the Auckland District Health Board has refused to allow them to present a petition signed by 100,000 Aucklanders registering their disapproval of the decision by the three district health boards to award the contract for community laboratory services to a new and unproven provider

5th Sep - Lab services row escalates
The row over medical test services in Auckland is escalating, with DML presenting to the Auckland District Health Board a petition of more than 100,000 signatures from people opposed to the decision, at an ADHB board meeting this morning while protesters gather outside the hospital in support. The DHB's chair, Wayne Brown, says the group is welcome to do so but it will not help the company win the tender back

5th Sep - Lab petition heads to DHBs
A lobby group says more than 100,000 Aucklanders have signed a petition urging Auckland DHBs to review their decision to award the community laboratory services contract to new provider Labtests Auckland. Aucklander Matt Crockett, whose partner works for DML, created a website called DontRiskOurHealth.com as another way (besides paper) for people to sign the petition and debate the issues online. The petition calls for Auckland, Counties Manukau and Waitemata DHBs to urgently review their decision to award the contract for community laboratory services to Labtests Auckland

5th Sep - 100,000 Aucklanders urge the Auckland DHBs to review lab contract    DontRiskOurHealth.com founder Matt Crockett says the petition is a powerful statement of concern from the Auckland public that they support the existing provider and agree with GPs, 97% of whom are opposed to the change. "The people have spoken, and 100,000 Aucklanders want a review. We do not want our world-class pathology service put at risk by bureaucrats who have chosen dollars over sense."

1st Sep - NZNO and NCWU picket Auckland Hospital
New Zealand Nurses Organisation and the Northern Chemical Workers Union members are picketing the ADHB with concerns regarding limited access of patients in the new company's proposal to cut collection sites by half, Health and Safety standards as the new company proposes to use untrained couriers to act as delivery agents of blood and body fluids, delay issues as the new company proposes to send some tests overseas, possibly causing longer stays in or delayed admission to hospitals, and no consultation with the health professionals in Auckland who will suffer the impacts of the decision on the community

29th Aug - DHB parent body transparency bill to get hearing
An Openness of District Health Boards New Zealand Amendment Bill will be debated by Parliament next month. NZMA chairman Dr Ross Boswell said it was good DHBNZ would face scrutiny, adding that in his view the body should be disbanded. "DHBNZ is increasingly taking on coordination and operational policy functions, which should more appropriately be carried out by the Ministry of Health," he said. "DHBNZ is only accountable to the DHBs. One aspect of this has been the inability to obtain information about its activities under the Official Information Act, but there are wider issues, including its approach to consultation."

28th Aug - The Listener: Testing Time with Labtests Auckland
26 out of 37 of DML's pathologists wrote a public letter saying they won’t work for Labtests CEO Tony Bierre, and some of them turned out on Queen Street in public protest, possibly the first occasion the public has ever witnessed placard-waving pathologists. The reason they are refusing to work with him, explains Bierre, who was a founder of DML and took unsuccessful legal action against his former colleagues following his departure, is due to “disagreement in the past... a long time ago, the mid-90s" [actual date: 2002-2003]. Even hospital pathologists are mutinous over the changes. North Shore Hospital’s clinical director of surgical pathology, Dr Stephen Allpress, has “no doubt that this contract will cause some Auckland pathologists to leave the city to work in Australia or elsewhere. Had this contract been announced a year ago, I wouldn’t have returned from Australia to work in such an environment.”

24th Aug - Full steam ahead despite staunch protest
More than 5,000 health professionals, patients, politicians, pathologists and supporters of outgoing service provider Diagnostic Medlab marched up Queen Street on Saturday protesting against Labtests' takeover next July. Auckland general practitioners also addressed the rally, expressing their concerns about the huge risks involved in the decision and the lack of consultation with general practitioners. Despite the threat of legal action and community outrage, Labtests says its takeover plan is “well-advanced”. CEO Dr Tony Bierre says the company has received encouraging responses to advertisements for pathologists and laboratory professionals, both locally and overseas, and that discussions with potential senior staff, including personnel currently providing laboratory services in Auckland at DML, are being held

22nd Aug - 5,000 Protest at Health Bureaucrats’ “Wrong” Decision
A group of more than 5,000 concerned Aucklanders marched up Auckland’s Queen Street on Saturday to a rally in Aotea Square organized by the staff of DML, in protest to a decision by Auckland’s health bureaucrats to award a contract for community laboratory services to a new and unproven provider. Dr Claire McClintock, a DML haematologist, said “We, the staff of Diagnostic Medlab, know that the service that Diagnostic Medlab delivers cannot be bettered. We will not give up, we believe in ourselves and what we do. We promise that we will continue to fight this senseless decision for the good of the people of Auckland"

19th Aug - LTA's Message to Auckland    You will see no change to current service levels – some things will be done better. Your tests will be performed safely, to a high standard and quickly. Your tests will be done in Auckland – not overseas. You will have more choice about where and how your blood will be taken. Our dedicated collection rooms will be larger and more conveniently located. You will have more say in your laboratory service and there will be greater transparency around the performance of the service. The staff who take your blood and who work in the central laboratory will have greater job security under our eight-year contract. We are happy to take less profit in order to ensure your health dollars are spent where they are needed – on better health care for you (see corresponding blog entry here)

19th Aug - Photos: Diagnostic Medlab Queen Street Protest

19th Aug - Queen St march protests lab contract
More than 5,000 people have marched up Auckland's Queen street this afternoon protesting against Diagnostic Medlab losing the contract for the region's medical tests. A spokesman for Diagnostic MedLab at today's protest, Paul Ockelford, says they will keep fighting, and that Diagnostic Medlab has filed papers in the High Court in Auckland seeking a judicial review of the decision. Auckland's District Health Boards say the contract change was properly audited

19th Aug - Public support Medlab staff
A large number of the public turned out this afternoon at a march in support of staff of Diagnostic Medlab, after a decision by the Auckland district health boards to drop DML in favour of Australian competitor Labtests. Matthew Crockett, who runs an online petition supporting Medlab, says thousands of responses show the public is angry at the decision. He says nearly 70,000 people have signed the petition so far. Organisers say they are overwhelmed by the big support at today's rally. Protestor and lab technician Kat Hughes says DML is the benchmark in quality health testing and would be a hard act to follow, since organisations all over the world send technicians here to see how Medlab does things, and she can not see how Labtests can deliver that same level of quality

19th Aug - LTA press release
Labtests Auckland says it is running ahead of schedule in its bid to be fully operational by next July. The company has been controversially awarded the Auckland community laboratory contracts previously held by Diagnostic MedLab. Labtests Auckland CEO Tony Bierre says the implementation plan is well advanced. He says there has been a good response to advertisements for pathologists and lab professionals, and that some of those interested in employment are Diagnostic Medlab staff

17th Aug - Green MPs join Medlab debate
Green MPs have joined a growing number of groups and individuals expressing concern about the impact of the switch from Medlab to untried company Labtests Auckland on primary healthcare services in the Auckland region. "Until recently we thought this was simply a case of sour grapes after one private company lost a contract to another," MP Sue Bradford says. "However, after looking into the details, we now share the view of thousands of health professionals and patients that this is a medical disaster in the making. Labtests Auckland, the company awarded the contract, has no laboratory in Auckland city, no staff, and no track record in New Zealand of providing lab testing services of the quantity and quality required in our largest city"

17th Aug - Countdown to Crunch Time for Pathology in Australia
It's a pathologist's worst nightmare. Somewhere in the steady parade of slides is one bearing the telltale stamp of malignancy, yet as it passes in front of tired, overworked eyes, the warning signs are missed and the sample is labelled normal. A cancer goes undiagnosed and a diagnosis that could save a life is delayed. This is a rare, worst-case scenario, but experts are predicting it could become more common as a dwindling pathology workforce is stretched to its limits. The workforce crisis, which has so many in the profession dreading the next five years, is beginning to affect patients, and it will get worse over time

16th Aug - Health professionals plan protest over lab contract
Doctors, nurses and other health professionals have asked the public to join them in a demonstration on Saturday over a decision which they say puts public health at risk. The protest march along Queen Street in Auckland follows a decision by local health boards to dump Auckland medical laboratory Diagnostic Medlab (DML) as the area's main medical laboratory. A $560 million, eight-year contract has been awarded to Labtests Auckland, a consortium led by Healthscope Ltd, Australia's second-largest private hospital operator

16th Aug - Greypower challenges lab change
Greypower Association members in the Auckland region are voicing their concern over the recent decision by DHBs to replace Diagnostic MedLab as provider of community laboratory services, in a bid to make savings on the contract. A media release circulated today states Greypower’s elderly have little faith that the present level of service can be maintained for less than it costs now. “If it can, then the new Company should be happy to furnish the Auckland public with a cast-iron guarantee to that effect before they are allowed to take up their contract. If they are unwilling to do so, their offer should be declined”

16th Aug - Protest rally announced! 19/8 @ 1:45pm QE2 Square
DontRiskOurHealth.com petition founder Matt Crockett says the rally, marching up Queen St from QE2 square at 1:45pm, is the inevitable outcome of a process lacking proper consultation. “The DHBs have refused to consult or listen to us,” Crockett says. “The existing system is held in high regard by all the stakeholders. It is a benchmark for laboratories in the South Pacific region. How can a responsible governing board ignore all this in awarding the contract to a start up consortium on the basis of paper savings? “The DHBs need to engage with the public that they are elected to serve. We are appealing to them to reconsider their position, engage with all stakeholders and award the contract to the provider who can best balance the need of all parties”

14th Aug - Disappointment in Medlab's latest move
Auckland's district health boards are disappointed at Diagnostic Medlab’s latest action against its failed bid to win the community lab services contract. The outgoing contractor is seeking a judicial review of the decision to award the multi million-dollar contract to Australian-owned Labtests Auckland. If successful, a legal battle will decide the fate of the $560 million contract and both companies. ADHB CEO Garry Smith says the decision to change lab services providers was not made lightly. Responding to DML calls for a review to examine “serious matters of probity”, Mr Smith says the tender process was audited by Audit New Zealand and a certificate of compliance was issued

12th Aug - Accept Labtest, says Auckland DHBs
The Auckland District Health Board says health practitioners need to accept its decision to use a new provider to run the city's medical laboratory testing. From next year, the work will be done by Labtests Auckland. The College of General Practitioners has said it cannot accept DHB assurances that the $560 million contract will deliver the promised services. The contract has been a hot topic at the college's annual conference in Auckland, where the college president, Dr Jonathan Fox, issued a statement criticising the DHBs. He says GPs are not convinced by assurances the new provider, Labtests Auckland, has shown elsewhere it can deliver

10th Aug - Patients may suffer - College of GPs warn
The College of GPs today criticised the three Auckland DHBs who have made major c