Comments on: It’s All About Patient Care

By: Craig Pritchard

Craig Pritchard — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:40:33 +0000

By: Kat

Kat — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:08:35 +0000

The staff at DML have judged LTA to be second rate by the lack of space in their lab, the equipment selected, the reduction in turn around times, the reduced range of testing they propose, the reduction in collection rooms and staff (although who would know what’s going on there- the goal posts seem to shift every day) and their lack of experience in establishing a lab of the size of DML’s. We didn’t sprout that lab over night to handle that volume of work, it has grown over a long time with the workload steadily increasing. Fortunately for me, I have qualifications in another industry desperately short of staff, so have no fears for my mortgage. The staff at DML will go to LTA if they feel it is in their best interests. There is no way DML management can stop them and I can say in all honesty, I have not felt that pressure as an employee.

By: worker b

worker b — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:24:00 +0000

Remember Healthscope runs laboratories in Australia. Pathology is a small world. Its well known what their ‘rate’ is. There are several professional groups at DML in addition to medical laboratory scientists. I think you’ll find many of them are sought after.

By: MacDoctor

MacDoctor — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:11:19 +0000

Kat: You are at liberty to work for LTA or not. But the fact that you discard LTA as “second-rate” before they have even started suggests to me that DML management have actively engaged in turning their technicians away from moving to LTA, presumably by a campaign of fear, uncertainty and doubt.

A goodly portion of lab techs will be redundant in September – in an environment of poor employment prospects. This does not suggest to me a caring employer, but an intensely manipulative one.

By: Kat

Kat — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:56:54 +0000

LTA argued sucessfully to the appeal court that this was a commercial decision. Tim Woods (the DHB project manager) stated to GPs that Healthscope tendered with the belief that they could walk in and take over DML’s operation as a going concern. I am a DML staff member who would take annual leave for the day rather than be forced to join a Magical Mystery Tour arranged by DML management for the benefit of LTA. The reason? I back patient care above all else, which is why I will NOT work for a company whose service model suggests the opposite. How exactly are DML management meant to make us go to LTA? Why is it OK for LTA to bully us into working for them? Why are you happy to have a second rate lab service foisted on you when it’s all about patient care?