Elaine Booker, who worked as laboratory scientist for Awanui in Invercargill from April 2022 to July 2023, said the recent Health and Disability Commission investigation into the 2022 death of a retired Southland nurse barely ‘‘scratched the surface’’.
A ‘‘hindsight review’’ undertaken of the original three biopsies that revealed stomach cancer had been present in two previous biopsies and missed by Awanui Labs pathologists.
Ms Booker said the environment at the laboratory was such she was certain that other cancers would have been missed by the team, and she left the job for ‘‘that very reason’’.
Working conditions were ‘‘insane’’, Ms Booker said.
‘‘We were doing an eight-hour shift, and then the idea was that we went on call.
‘‘But that didn’t mean we were really on call. It meant that, yes, we could technically leave the lab and go to the little sleep room. But we would be called back within about ten minutes.
‘‘So most of us never bothered actually leaving the lab. That meant that we were basically doing 16-hour shifts — and a 16-hour shift is not safe.’’
Student workers were also ‘‘largely unsupervised’’ while samples frequently went missing, were not filed properly or were not sent to the right locations, Ms Booker said.
This would have led to patients suffering more than they should, Ms Booker believed.
‘‘Because samples were lost or picked up too late, then instead of just having a urinary tract infection, for example, people could end up with kidney infections, which are far harder to treat.’’
Awanui apologised after the HDC investigation, but Ms Booker said it was ‘‘hollow’’ because they did not address the systemic issues.
‘‘You read their so-called apologies, and it just does not ring true.
‘‘They say, ‘oh, sorry about that particularly precious sample going missing, but we track all our deliveries’.
‘‘Well, they certainly didn’t track anything when I was there.’’
A full independent inquiry into pathology services in the South should be the ‘‘bare minimum’’ response, and the situation would not improve until Awanui’s work returned to public ownership, she said.
‘‘I mean, pathology has just become a cash cow. It’s become a cash cow for the shareholders. But the problem is now that Awanui aren’t making enough money for their shareholders — so they’re making cuts.’’
Ms Booker’s plea for an independent inquiry has been matched by Patient Voice Advocacy group spokesman Malcolm Mulholland, who said the situation was a ‘‘corporate cover-up’’.
A spokesman for Awanui said it disagreed with the allegations.
‘‘Awanui continually monitors workload, staffing levels, service demand and on-call requirements across its network to ensure all patients receive timely, high-quality diagnostic services, regardless of location.
‘‘Our laboratories operate within rigorous quality assurance and accreditation frameworks, supported by specialist pathologists, peer review processes and ongoing oversight.’’
Awanui took its role seriously, the spokesman said.
‘‘We operate under strict national accreditation and quality assurance standards, including oversight by International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) and adherence to Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) requirements.
‘‘Awanui operates a rigorous tracking and oversight system for samples to ensure diagnosis is timely and accurate.
‘‘We recognise the critical role pathology services play in patient care and are committed to ensuring our teams, including trainees, are appropriately supported to deliver safe and reliable outcomes for patients across the lower South Island.’’
Awanui played a critical role in the health system, supporting about 25,000 New Zealanders daily, the spokesman said.
‘‘We’ve been providing pathology services to New Zealanders for more than 60 years and remain committed to delivering quality, innovative and timely diagnostic care.’’
