Source: Radio New Zealand
Awanui Labs is privately owned, but is contracted by Health NZ to provide medical laboratory and pathology services. Supplied
An independent review into Invercargill’s Awanui Labs is needed after doctors twice missed signs a woman had cancer, Patient Voice Aotearoa says.
The lab failed to detect the 74-year-old retired nurse had stomach cancer, despite analysing multiple biopsies with cancer cells present.
It meant her treatment was delayed by nine months and she died a year later.
The lab is privately owned, but is contracted by Health New Zealand to provide medical laboratory and pathology services.
The retired nurse was referred to Southland Hospital by her GP for recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding in 2021 and had a number of tests.
A Health and Disability Commission report, released last month, found Awanui Labs did not ensure reasonable care and skill in providing services to the patient.
Advocacy group Patient Voice Aotearoa wants the government to conduct an independent review of histology testing undertaken at Invercargill by Awanui Labs from 2021 to 2023.
Chair Malcolm Mulholland said doing so would give surety that the diagnoses patients received were correct.
“Awanui did not disclose to the Health and Disability Commissioner who looked into that case that they had effectively stopped providing histology service out of Invercargill.
“I believe that if that knowledge had have come to light, then it could have been that the Health and Disability Commissioner recommend that a wider look be taken at the practices of the lab,” he said.
Mulholland said pathologists have been reporting concerns with that practice of testing.
“My understanding is that in order to get the best results, you are best to conduct the biopsies where you are and then to subsequently, at that very place, have the pathology undertaken, as opposed to transporting it off-site to another lab that might be 2, 2 1/2 hours up the road,”
Mulholland said workloads were also a massive concern.
“I’ve certainly heard from a number of pathologists on that front that they are extremely concerned about their high workload.
“And some have attributed the mistakes that were made in that particular case towards having a high workload,” he said.
Awanui Labs has confirmed the patient’s tests were sent to Dunedin.
In a statement, it said that the practice had been in place for Southland since 2020 and the Health of Disability Commissioner was aware of this during its investigation.
The company said there were appropriate levels of staffing, support and oversight in Dunedin at the time.
Awanui did not accept that patient safety was compromised due to workload pressures or staffing levels.
It said it continuously monitors workloads, staffing and service demand across its network to ensure safe and timely diagnostic services for patients.
Awanui’s pathology services are overseen by International Accreditation New Zealand and it adheres to Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) standards.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand