Latest news with #Awanui
Otago Daily Times
14-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Hundreds of blood samples mislaid by courier company: union
A courier company has twice mislaid hundreds of blood samples, after Auckland's only community laboratory began sending them to Wellington to be processed, according to the union representing lab workers, which has just confirmed further strike action. Awanui Labs - which contracts to Health NZ - has been sending some blood tests to Wellington since a machine processing immunology samples in its Auckland facility broke down in February. Awanui chief operations officer Nick Champness confirmed some blood test samples were "delayed in transit" - but all samples had been located and no patients had to be re-tested. "In early April, one shipment was delayed by a few hours to arrive at the Wellington laboratory. All samples were processed, and patients received their results within the expected timeframes. "The second delayed shipment occurred during the Anzac long-weekend. We were aware of the issue when the shipment did not show up at its expected arrival time and our team were immediately in contact with the courier provider. "The shipment was relocated, however due to the time in transit, these samples were no longer suitable for testing and were re-prepared using the samples retained for short period in Auckland and as a result no patients were required to return for a second blood collection." 'A cost-cutting exercise' APEX union associate advocate Sam Heimsath said it was "not the first time" that Awanui had resorted to sending samples to other centres for testing. The company was actually proposing to make this a permanent arrangement, which would mean the loss of 11 jobs in Auckland, "Over a number of years, Awanui and other corporate lab providers have attempted to consolidate some of their services from rural laboratories into the main centres. "That's a cost-cutting exercise for the most part - it means they don't have to retain as many staff. "But it comes at a time when because of this 30% gap in laboratory workers' wages [compared with those working in Health NZ-owned labs], the ability for these employers to recruit and retain staff to allow these labs to take on more work is almost untenable." It was patients who ended up paying the price of cost-cutting, Heimsath said. "It's not just the breaking down of machines and the delays to samples. It's about the risk ultimately to patients." APEX, which represents Awanui's lab workers, tonight announced rolling strikes from May 24 to June 4. Heimsath said 500 workers will be taking part across the country. APEX lab scientists and technicians - who went on strike in March - have yet to resolve their long-running pay dispute with Awanui. Awanui Labs has previously said funding from Health NZ was not enough to bridge the gap created by pay equity settlements in 2023, which bumped wages for lab technicians in the public sector. Heimsath said this afternoon that Apex members had voted today to issue Awanui Labs a further 27 notices of strike action. "These will be from May 29 to June 4, but they will be rolling strikes, so the intention is, if it's voted for by members, we will continue to add weeks onto that. And we are talking over 500 laboratory workers across almost the whole country, from Northland to Southland." Heimsath said workers will still cover essential services, but will be withdrawing parts of their labour to limit services. 'Common practice' Champness acknowledged that patients and providers relied on timely and accurate results, but they could be assured that Awanui's "number one priority" was caring for patients. The samples being sent to Wellington were "non-urgent community-based immunology tests". "Transferring samples throughout the country within our laboratory network and to other providers is common practice in New Zealand and globally, in-particular for non-urgent testing. Our laboratories follow specific criteria on safe and timely sample transfer and these processes are independently audited for compliance." In the event that Wellington became "a longer-term solution" for North Island community immunology testing, Awanui would increase staff numbers in this laboratory and use automation technology to boost capacity. "However, the proposal is still out for consultation and no final decisions had been made." The company was "actively and constructively engaged in discussions with Health NZ" over the funding gap, Champnes said. Health NZ spokesperson Kate Dowson said the agency was aware of Awanui's "contingency solution". "We have worked with Awanui to ensure the change has minimal impact on referrers across the Northern region. The transfer of samples to Wellington for processing has had no impact on the turnaround time of patient results." Awanui had confirmed that no patients needed to be re-tested "due to delays by their sub-contracted courier provider during a recent public holiday", she said. "Awanui had mitigation plans in place to ensure samples were resent and results reported within the expected timeframe." Urgent immunology samples - such as for measles - were processed by LabPlus, which was operated by Auckland City Hospital. Awanui had not told Health NZ about its internal proposal to review the immunology department in Auckland. "We understand that a proposal is currently being consulted on, and we look forward to working with Awanui on medium-term solutions to address their instrumentation and staffing constraints. Health NZ expects to be consulted on any permanent changes to the service." Regarding funding, Dowson said Health NZ was "in regular dialogue with Awanui regarding cost pressures and sustainability". "The agreement is reviewed in line with the contractual requirements."
RNZ News
14-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Allegations hundreds Awanui blood tests missing in transit
Thousands of lab tests are being sent from Auckland to wellington for analysis after an equipment failure at the private lab operator awanui. There are allegations some of the samples went missing. An Awanui labs analyser has broken meaning a large quantity of immunolgy samples are being flown to the capital for analysis. Sammy Heimsath, an Associate Advocate at APEX Union which represents Awanui's Wellington lab workers spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Problem-plagued Far North water scheme to be reviewed
Far North District Council headquarters, Memorial Ave, Kaikohe. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf Far North District councillors have ordered an immediate, independent review of a controversial Kaitāia water project dogged by delays and cost overruns. The Sweetwater project was launched in 2010 by then Far North Mayor Wayne Brown, with the aim of tapping into an aquifer north of Kaitāia and reducing the town's reliance on water from the drought-prone Awanui River. Water from the Aupōuri aquifer finally made its way into Kaitāia's town supply in January this year - 15 years later - at a cost thought to be around $17 million. Uncertainty over the cost of the project has long been a bugbear for Awanui-based councillor Mate Radich, who at Thursday's meeting moved that the council order a judicial review. Radich told fellow councillors the project was supposed to take five years, but instead took 15. He had become especially frustrated, unable to get consistent information about the project's total cost. Figures he had been given by council staff since 2021 ranged from a low of $13.5 million to a high of $18.9m, with three different figures - varying by almost $4m - provided just this year. The figure earlier provided to RNZ under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act was $17.2m to 30 June 2023. "Ratepayers have a right to know how much it cost," Radich said. "I know a judicial review is expensive, but given the mess, what other option do I have? It's so important to bring out the truth." However, Mayor Moko Tepania said judicial reviews cost "a heck of a lot of money". He proposed ordering an immediate independent review instead, which could provide the same answers but at lower cost to ratepayers. Deputy Mayor Kelly Stratford, who seconded Radich's original motion, wanted assurances any review would be "absolutely independent". She was unconvinced it would have sufficient integrity if it was carried out internally. "We're not looking to lay blame, but we need to understand what happened so we don't make the same mistakes going forward." Councillor Ann Court said she was concerned about the expense of a review, and the cumulative cost of the council's ad hoc decisions over the past two and half-years. "If this is just a 'gotcha' exercise, I don't think it would be a useful spend of ratepayer money." However, if the review led to useful lessons, it could have merit, Court said. Chief executive Guy Holroyd did not want to guess the cost of a review, but said it would be "tens and tens of thousands of dollars". His preference was to gather the information internally to keep costs down, then have it audited by external experts. The amended motion, for an independent review to be completed by July, was passed by a clear majority of councillors. The Sweetwater project was dogged by problems almost from the outset, including difficulties accessing the bores because they were on private land. The pipeline also had to cross private land to reach Kaitāia. In 2013, newly elected Mayor John Carter halted the project and called in the Serious Fraud Office. Its investigation found some council members and employees failed to follow internal processes, but there was not enough evidence to lay charges. In 2019 however, after Kaitāia had been hammered by a series of severe droughts, the Sweetwater project was revived. In 2020 a cash injection from the Provincial Growth Fund paid for temporary pipes carrying bore water to the treatment plant at Okahu Road. However, it turned out the silica-rich aquifer water was unsuitable for a plant designed to treat river water. After much technical tweaking and the installation of new equipment, water from the Sweetwater bore finally started flowing through Kaitāia's taps in January this year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
