Wellington and Hutt senior doctors overwhelmingly oppose privatisation of their public hospital laboratories

“A survey of senior doctors employed by two Wellington region district health boards shows they are overwhelmingly opposed to the prospect of privatising their public hospital laboratories,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS).

The ASMS surveyed 398 members employed by the Hutt Valley and Capital & Coast DHBs to gauge their feelings about DHB moves to privatise the region’s public hospital laboratories. Of these, 201 people (just over half) responded.

Senior doctors were asked eight questions about their reliance on the work of hospital laboratories, their involvement in the laboratory review process, and their feelings about the process and potential implications if the laboratories are privatised.

The survey found:

· 86.07% of respondents consider themselves an ‘end user’ of laboratory services (eg, a surgeon, physician, etc), 11.44% work in or with the hospital laboratory (eg, as a pathology, haematologist etc) and 2.49% said their clinical work is not affected by the work of the laboratory.

· 85.49% said they had not had an opportunity to perform a clinical leadership role in the laboratory process as would have been expected under the DHB MECA, while 14.51% said they had received such an opportunity.

· 96.22% expressed concern about the exclusion of pathologists, haematologists and infectious disease specialists from a leadership role in the decision to pursue privatisation. 3.78% were not concerned.

· 73.94% believe there is a risk of fragmentation in the integration of services between hospital laboratories and ‘end users’ if the hospital laboratories are privatised. 6.91% did not think there was a risk of this occurring, while 19.15% did not know.

· 63.30% were concerned that their hospital laboratory might be run by a private company, 20.21% were not concerned, and 16.49% said they didn’t know.

· 64.55% believe patient care could be affected by having a separate company running the hospital laboratory. 11.11% did not believe that, and 24.34% did not know.

· Of those that did think patient care would be affected, 90.98% thought the effect would be negative, 0.82% thought it would be positive, and 8.20% didn’t know what the effect would be.

· 96.28% said they supported the wish of pathologists and other at-risk SMOs to continue to be DHB-employed. 3.72% said they did not support this.

The DHB Boards are due to make a decision about the future of the Wellington laboratories on 6 March. Proponents of this restructuring have had a predetermined agenda to privatise but Mr Powell says there is still time to listen to the advice of their hospital specialists, including pathologists who work in the laboratories, and surgeons and physicians who depend on their diagnosis.

“These survey results should help them understand just how concerned medical specialists are about the path they’re heading down and the flawed process to date. It is a compelling message to DHB Chairs, Boards and Chief Executives, and also to Health Minister Jonathan Coleman.”

He says doctors are watching the Minister very closely as well to see if he intervenes to stop privatisation of the laboratories. The message from the experts – pathologists in particular and hospital specialists in general – to him is crystal clear: don’t privatise the hospital laboratories as there are too many risky unintended consequences that are dangerous for patients.

“Dr Coleman told the ASMS Annual Conference last year that he expects DHBs to listen to doctors and be guided by what they have to say. His response to the current situation will test the depth of his commitment to genuine medical clinical leadership and engagement.”

ENDS

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