Photo: 123RF
The country's most powerful medical laboratory group, half owned by the government, is proposing to slash the medical lab workforce in the upper South Island.
Awanui, which is worth half a billion dollars, has told staff in Nelson the move is part of centralising its nationwide services to make them "sustainable".
Under its proposal, which is subject to a week-long consultation, core histology services - nearly all tissue testing - would shift to its Christchurch lab, SCL, and samples sent there.
Nine Nelson staff, including three medical scientists, would lose their jobs.
They would be replaced by two part-time lab technicians. Nelson's five pathologists at Awanui would keep their jobs.
Te Whatu Ora, which has said a top priority is to deliver services locally, said Awanui had assured it service delivery will not be impacted.
The Apex union said the move represented a trend of gutting regional centres of skilled health workers.
The company told Nelson staff on Tuesday:
"Awanui is working towards ensuring laboratory services are streamlined where possible with the intention to look at consolidated and centralisation of services to ensure that we are providing a sustainable service going forward."
Medical lab workers were hailed as "hidden heroes" by the government during Covid-19, but face punishing staff shortages and pay rates that range from just a starting rate of $59,000 to a standard top rate around $80,000 for a medical scientist.
Awanui - formerly Asian Pacific Healthcare Group - had revenue of $300m and net profit of $40m in 2020.
It is 48 percent owned by the government's Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation. A Canadian pension plan owns another 48 percent.
The two got Overseas Investment Office approval in 2020, telling the OIO they would pursue "growth".
Awanui's main contract with Te Whatu Ora is reportedly worth $745m over eight years.] Photo: Supplied
A 28-iwi trust bought four percent in 2021, and the company changed its name to Awanui this year.
Apex union organiser David Munro said the Nelson proposal was to courier, not fly, the samples south to Christchurch, raising the risk some would spoil on the way.
Centralisation went counter to health services becoming more resilient, he added.
"The staff are being replaced at the whim of business decisions by a company half owned in Canada."
Awanui's general manager Te Waipounamu, Andrea Guillemot, said in a brief statement that no changes had been made yet.
"Any proposed changes will not impact turn-around times of results and patient safety remains our top priority.
"Patients and health practitioners will continue to receive a high-quality laboratory testing service in the region."
Awanui has more than 2000 staff doing almost seven million pathology tests a year, covering three-quarters of the population.
BusinessDesk has reported Awanui's main contract with Te Whatu Ora is worth $745m over eight years.
It quoted chief executive Anoop Singh earlier this year suggesting an aligned national approach to pathology providers might be useful to address pay concerns and equitable patient access to service.
APHG, in changing its name to Awanui, stated earlier this month that "our rebranding and unifying of our identity is an integral part of our planning for the future and it supports us in demonstrating our commitment to working in partnership with Māori and our commitment to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi".
Medical scientists and technicians service 80 percent of all hospital patients, and 100 percent of cancer patients.
Te Whatu Ora said there would be no change to the joint contract its Nelson Marlborough and Southern districts hold with Awanui "due to internal lab changes".
The contract was regularly measured against targets, said Nelson Marlborough interim hospital and specialist services lead Lexie O'Shea in a short statement last night.
Awanui's Nelson-Marlborough lab staff processed 21,000 samples from 18,000 patients last year.
Under the plan, Nelson would keep its five pathologists, and continue to process blood and fluids and frozen sections, but the core histology services would shift out.
The company told staff the changes were needed to address "substandard work conditions", "ageing equipment that requires replacement in the short to medium term" and staff turnover leading to "the overall reduction of technical experience within the team".
It was aiming to align work volumes "with adequate technical expertise", and to align operations with its "digital pathology project with the strategic view to centralise histology processing".
The board chair of Te Whatu Ora, Naomi Ferguson, told an online hui last week the new national healthcare system would be "planned regionally and delivered locally" to deal with historic issues of "inequity and inconsistency".
Chief executive Margie Apa added: "Regional plans need to support locality delivery and make sure that we are offering universal service coverage for all New Zealanders regardless of where they are."
Awanui aims to make a final decision in Nelson by 31 May, and complete any changes by mid-July.
Four thousand medical lab workers were among 10,000 allied healthcare workers who went on strike for one day a year ago for more pay and improved conditions.
Apex and the PSA union have a joint claim in for allied workers - 80 percent of them women - to get pay equity.
This public sector deal would not apply for private providers like Awanui, though they recruit in the same pool.