Thursday 16 July, 2015

Claims against Whakatāne microbiology service dismissed as lacking “objectivity and scientific rigour” by nation’s leading accreditation agency

New Zealand’s leading accreditation agency has dismissed claims against Whakatāne’s microbiology services provider as unscientific and based on “anecdotal” evidence.

The findings come in an IANZ (International Accreditation New Zealand) report into a complaint lodged with them by Mr Sandy Milne. Mr Milne has waged a long-running campaign against the Pathlab-run microbiology service after testing of routine microbiology samples was moved to Tauranga Hospital in 2009. Urgent microbiology samples are still tested onsite at Whakatāne Hospital.

IANZ, the internationally-respected independent accreditation agency, dismissed Mr Milne’s claims as being unsupported by facts.

“Much of the evidence presented by the complainant was anecdotal and lacked both objectivity and scientific rigour,” said Phil Barnes, IANZ Accreditation Services General Manager.

“By contrast the laboratory was able to demonstrate through extensive data collection processes and objective clinical analysis, a thorough evaluation of service quality levels pre and post service-changeover.

“No evidence was encountered that suggested the service change had had a clinically significant negative impact on patient care. On the contrary, there was good evidence that the quality and timeliness of service delivery had improved, and would improve further as the laboratory continued to adopt state-of-the-art techniques and instrumentation/automation.”

Mr Barnes said the complaint received by IANZ had centred on the core points of Mr Milne’s long-running campaign - specimen transportation times and assertions about alleged delays and their effects.

Mr Barnes undertook his investigation after being approached by Mr Milne and met with him, and Pathlab officials, during a visit to Whakatāne in early June as part of this work.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board CEO Phil Cammish said he trusted this “complete repudiation of Mr Milne’s claims by IANZ - the agency Mr Milne approached to complete this investigation - will see an end to his campaign.

“More importantly, it should also assure the people of the Eastern Bay once and for all that the laboratory services they receive, including those for microbiological samples, are high quality and meet rigorous international standards.

“The IANZ findings are also completely in line with the findings and conclusions that the BOPDHB, Pathlab, the Ministry of Health and the Select Committee have all made when reviewing Mr Milne’s claims previously,” added Mr Cammish.

The IANZ investigation focussed on Pathlab’s observance of four key ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards. In all four cases it was found that “there was no evidence to suggest any breaches of this clause of the standard”.

The four standards investigated were:

Sample transportation: The laboratory shall have a documented procedure for monitoring the transportations of samples to ensure they are transported….within a timeframe appropriate to the nature of the requested examinations and the laboratory discipline concerned.

Quality indicators: The laboratory, in consultation with the users, shall establish turnaround times for each of its examinations that reflect clinical needs. The laboratory shall periodically evaluate whether or not it is meeting established turnaround times.

Needs of users: Laboratory management shall ensure that laboratory services, including appropriate advisory and interpretive services, meet the needs of patients and those using the laboratory services.

Assessment of user feedback: The laboratory shall seek information relating to user perception as to whether the service has met the needs and requirements of users.

ends

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