Long waits for blood work leave Calgarians on edge after community labs privatized
Health minister says the transition to private company Dynalife caused delays
Calgary families say wait times for blood work have ballooned since the private company Dynalife took over community clinics, and they're worried it could be dangerous for their loved ones.
In Calgary, routine lab appointments are now booking roughly five weeks out, or longer.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) contracted Edmonton-based Dynalife Medical Labs to take over community lab service last year, making it responsible for 50 million Alberta tests a year.
"I think it's crazy that we are in this situation," said Candice McLellan, whose 12-year-old son, Keagan, has Grave's disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes an overactive thyroid.
"He's in and out of the hospital all the time. He's waiting for appointments all the time. So this is just an added stress for him."
Keagan needs blood work every week or every couple of months depending on the state of his health. His medication makes him more susceptible to infections, and when he shows signs of illness — such as a fever or sore throat — he has to get tests done within 24 hours.
McLellan used to take her son to Alberta Children's Hospital for blood work. They could get in quickly and staff were specially trained to deal with children.
But Dynalife halted community blood collections at many hospitals, including all of Calgary's, when it took over.
McLellan now takes Keagan to a private lab and pays to have blood work done on the same day when he needs it urgently.
"He can't wait for appointments when he needs them, and I'm not going to for sit hours on end with him in a waiting room," she said.
"It just is frustrating that we're forced to sometimes have to pay to get blood work done when there was something in place that worked totally fine."
Previous waits much shorter
Brock Bohonos is worried about his family members, too.
He often helps his 87-year-old mother-in-law book her blood work at Calgary-area labs.
"This is just untenable to be able to look at this and see that you're four to six weeks out to get a lab appointment," he said.
Bohono's mother-in-law has a number of health problems and needs regular tests. Several of his other immediate family members do too.
"These issues are something that would be nice to get a read on them within a couple of days. And that's the way the system used to work. You used to be able to get something two to three days out."
Bohono ended up taking his elderly mother-in-law to a drop-in appointment this week. They waited in a hallway for 90 minutes, even though the posted wait time was 30 minutes.
He's is so concerned about the situation, he's written to the health minister, his MLA and others.
"We know delays are harmful to people's treatment, to their health, to their care," said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare, who calls the waits "unacceptable."
Gallaway has been hearing regularly from frustrated Albertans — many of them from Calgary — since Dynalife took over community lab service from Alberta Precision Laboratories.
"Ultimately, we believe we should be providing labs … through the the public system."
"But in the current situation, the minister should at least be stepping up to ensure Dynalife is providing the services people need when they need them."
Health Minister Jason Copping acknowledged the problem when CBC News asked about the long waits, at an unrelated news conference Thursday in Brooks.
"I've heard those concerns as well. I've had recent conversations with AHS," he said. "We're watching it very closely."
According to Copping, the delays have been triggered, at least in part, by problems as Dynalife took over.
"[They] are transitioning staff to a new system, so that has caused some degradation in service. In addition, Dynalife is … having some staffing issues."
Dynalife said it's expanding clinic hours and hiring additional staff in Calgary. It also plans to add clinics early in the summer.
"Dynalife is aware that there have been concerns about long waits in our community labs and is working hard to improve them," it said in a statement provided through AHS.
In some cases, people, including cancer patients, transplant patients and some maternity patients, can get in more quickly by calling the appointment booking line (1-877-702-4486), according to the statement.
Dynalife noted walk-in appointments are also available, and it has a service called "save my space," designed to allow patients to virtually hold a walk-in spot and receive updates on the status of their appointment time.
"We're very aware that it is an issue," AHS vice-president Dr. Sid Viner said at Thursday's news conference.
"And we'll work with Dynalife to improve it. That's the bottom line."
CBC News asked Viner if reopening community blood collection in hospitals, in particular Alberta Children's Hospital, is on the table.
"I'll give you the honest answer, which is that hadn't come to my attention. But having brought it to my attention, we'll definitely look at that."
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