Awanui Labs has been issued with a strike notice from the APEX union of intended action by its members for Tuesday 22 April, Wednesday 23 April and Thursday 24 April 2025.
There will be a reduction of services on these dates.
Our Wairarapa Hospital laboratory operations are unaffected by the strike (with the exception being microbiology services and closure of our Lincoln Road Collection Centre, refer to note below).
Patients are encouraged to check our website (refer to www.awanuilabs.co.nz for collection centre closures) and should expect delays at those Awanui collection centres which are open on 22 – 24 April 2025.
Where possible, you should encourage your patients to have their tests done either prior to or after the strike. We apologise for any inconvenience this will cause you and your patients and assure you we are doing our best to minimise the impact of this industrial action.
- During the strike microbiology samples with no clinical details may not be processed (not tested).
- Routine samples without an indication of treatment failure may be discarded (not tested) if test volumes exceed staff capacity on these days.
Flow cytometry testing
PLEASE CONSIDER DEFERRING ALL CLINICS AND ELECTIVE PROCEDURES REQUIRING FLOW CYTOMETRY SCHEDULED ON THE STRIKE DAYS, TO NON-STRIKE DAYS – TESTING MAY BE DECLINED
WHY DOES THE STRIKE MATTER FOR FLOW CYTOMETRY:
- Flow cytometry is used to help identify Haematological malignancies.
- Testing is a complex procedure and generally requires a minimum of 3 hours specialist scientist time.
- Sample processing must occur within 48 hours of collection therefore testing cannot be completed on declined samples.
WHO WILL BE OFFERED FLOW CYTOMETRY TESTING:
Flow cytometry requests will only be considered in the following situations, and will require Haematologist approval before testing is done:
- Investigation of acute leukaemia or lymphoma when it is required to preserve life or prevent permanent disability.
- CD34 testing for stem cell collection due to the time critical nature of the results and the transplant procedures.
- CSF specimens and biopsy samples from urgent cases only requiring flow cytometry investigation.
HOW TO GET FLOW CYTOMETRY APPROVAL:
- Clinical details are mandatory
- The requestor MUST contact the on-call Haematologist for approval.
- Ensure that samples requiring Flow cytometry are received in the Awanui Wellington Hospital Laboratory by 12 midday to allow sufficient time for sample processing, staining and analysis
- Samples not meeting these criteria will not be processed.
- Please be aware: ONLY VERBAL PROVISIONAL FLOW CYTOMETRY REPORTS WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE ON CALL HAEMATOLOGIST ON ABNORMAL SAMPLES THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR URGENT, LIFESAVING TREATMENT
- On call Flow Cytometry service is available ONLY via the on-call Haematologist who will contact the Flow Cytometry Scientist. This service is weekdays 17:00 – 22:00 Weekends/Public Holidays 09:00 – 16:00
WHAT IF I CAN’T HAVE FLOW CYTOMETRY:
- Anatomic pathology, Cytology review of the biopsy will still be able to be performed.
- There may be a delay to getting an indication of the presence of a haematological malignancy diagnosis as flow cytometry can be reported within 48 hours of samples collection, and anatomic pathology samples take longer.
- In certain conditions flow cytometry is critical to making a diagnosis so a repeat biopsy may be required.
Click here to view the upcoming collection centre hours
Links below:
HealthPathways
Diagnostic App