Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas says patients are being turned away at LifeLabs clinics in Sudbury because of a lack of staff.
In a letter to Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, Gelinas said her office has beenn receiving a growing number of complaints about unexpected LifeLabs closures in the city.
“Many of my constituents drive long distances to the closest LifeLabs location,” the NDP’s Health critic wrote. “They have a scheduled appointment, they arrive expecting to get their bloodwork or other laboratory services done, only to find out that the location was unexpectedly closed. They are then left to reschedule their appointments, sometimes after waiting weeks to have their lab tests completed.
“When my office reached out to LifeLabs, we were told that ‘due to temporary staffing pressures,’ they have implemented limited operational adjustments to maintain safe, sustainable service in the community while recruitment efforts continue. Specifically, the site closes for 30 minutes during the day to accommodate staff lunch breaks and may, on occasion, close up to 30 minutes earlier than scheduled.”
LifeLabs has four clinics in Sudbury. This development follows a controversy earlier this year when the company decided to shift routine medical sample analysis to labs in the Greater Toronto Area, costing 20 jobs in Sudbury.
Until recently, patients could go to a LifeLabs clinic in Sudbury without an appointment to get their medical testing done. Today, staff at those clinics tell patients to come earlier in the day or, better yet, to make an appointment.
Gelinas cited the case of a constituent she identified only as Chris who needs to get bloodwork done but has been turned away three times “because they are short staffed. They were not closed – it was not the end of the day – but they told the patients that they would not be able to get to them, so to come back another time.
“In Chris’ situation, he is a senior with cancer who needs these tests done as soon as possible as his doctor is awaiting the results for his plan of care. He lives almost an hour away from the nearest LifeLabs, therefore it is very difficult for him to drive even further to try another location, when he may get turned away again.
“Not only is it difficult because of the time it takes, but gas is increasingly expensive to be driving back and forth in this way.”
Gelinas called the unexpected closures unacceptable and a threat to people’s health. “When a laboratory suddenly closes or turns patients away, they can be left without timely access to the care that they need,” she wrote.
“We recognize that unexpected circumstances can arise. However, when closures occur repeatedly and patients are not provided with a clear explanation or adequate notice, it raises serious questions about the standards in place to ensure reliability of laboratory services.”
Gelinas said the Ford government’s “increasing reliance” on privately operated health-care services in Ontario is a factor in LifeLabs turning patients away.
“The mission of the Ontario Ministry of Health is to help people stay healthy, deliver high-quality care when and where they need it, and protect the health care system for future generations,” she said. “In that spirit, constituents in our province should be able to make an appointment for medically necessary bloodwork with the expectation that the service will be available when they arrive.
“What actions will you take to ensure that people in Greater Sudbury, and across Ontario, have continuous access to medically necessary laboratory services?”
In response, the Health ministry said LifeLabs is responsible for its operations, not the ministry. The emailed statement also said that the province “is taking action to grow our healthcare workforce across the sector, in every corner of the province. We are adding 700 more educational seats for healthcare professionals in Ontario’s colleges and universities, including medical laboratory technologists.
“To continue to support laboratory testing,” Lily Barnes, the press secretary and senior communications adviser to Jones, said, “Ontario expanded the Learn and Stay Grant, which covers tuition and other educational costs for students in healthcare programs in exchange for a term of work in their area of study, including medical laboratory technologists. Nearly 3,800 learners have already received funding through the grant to help pay for their postsecondary education.
“We have also expanded six new collection sites to make it more convenient for northern and rural communities to get lab tests closer to home.
“Our government has also established As of Right rules for health care professionals, including lab technologists, which allows professionals registered in other jurisdictions to begin to practice in Ontario immediately, helping increase access to care across Ontario, including in rural and northern communities.”
The Star also reached out to LifeLabs, but did not get a response.
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