Long waits for blood tests anger patients

Doctors say delayed blood test results from new contractor Labtests could threaten lives. Photo / Greg Bowker

Patients are facing waits of up to 40 minutes - and allegedly much longer - to have blood tests at Auckland's new laboratory service.

GPs, and a manager at outgoing community laboratory contractor Diagnostic Medlab (DML), say patients report waiting up to two hours for blood tests in the morning at new contractor Labtests.

But Ulf Lindskog, chief executive of Labtests, said yesterday the delays at peak times were around 30 to 40 minutes.

This was similar to the waits at DML collection rooms - DML disputes this - and was a "transition issue". It would disappear once the new service was bedded in, and he said the transition was going very well.

Under a contract with Auckland's three district health boards worth around $70 million a year, Labtests is progressively taking over community testing.

It started with most community tests in Counties Manukau on Monday. Central Auckland and Waitemata will follow in coming weeks.

Mr Lindskog blamed the delays on tests ordered by doctors late last week on DML forms that contained insufficient information for Labtests' needs. Labtests requires the doctor's name, clinic name and clinic address.

About 300 of the 3000 patients who had tests on Monday came with forms containing insufficient information, but the number was decreasing sharply each day as doctors switched to Labtests' forms, Mr Lindskog said.

This problem has also caused delays in returning some test results to doctors, which is potentially much more serious.

Mangere patient Crystal Hale, 63, takes the blood-thinning drug warfarin because she has an irregular heart rhythm. The dosage must be carefully controlled to avoid bleeding and this requires regular blood tests.

She was tested on Tuesday at Labtests' Manurewa centre. GPs expect the so-called INR results on the day of the test.

Mrs Hale, who is also upset that the phlebotomist had difficulty finding a vein to take blood from, said that although she was tested before midday,the result was not back when she checked with her doctor yesterday afternoon, more than 24 hours later.

"I want DML back and I'm not the only one."

Mr Lindskog said later, "That report went out earlier today."

Two Manurewa GPs, Professor Bruce Arroll and Dr Victor Wong, said delays in receiving INR results could be significant because of the bleeding risk if the result was high. They had noticed such delays from Labtests.

Professor Arroll, who is also the head of general practice at Auckland University, said doctors wanted INR results back within hours because patients could bleed to death if the warfarin dose was not adjusted when necessary.

Dr Wong said a female patient he had sent for a blood test on Monday to see if she had had a heart attack (it turned out she had not) waited for two hours.

DML's immunology manager, David Haines, said the average waiting time at its collection centres was 15 to 20 minutes before 9.30am, the peak time.

He said Labtests' patients had told DML staff of waiting up to 90 minutes.

In Papakura, he said, a woman chose to pay $130 for tests at DML on her two children which would have been taxpayer-funded at Labtests. She had reported being told she would have to wait 75 minutes at Labtests.