Invercargill Lab Missed Cancer Twice Before Woman's Death

Patient advocates are calling for a full independent review of Invercargill's Awanui Labs after doctors twice failed to detect cancer in a 74-year-old woman's biopsies.

The retired nurse died a year after her stomach cancer diagnosis was delayed by nine months, despite multiple biopsies containing cancer cells being analysed by the lab.-

A Health and Disability Commission report released last month found Awanui Labs failed to provide reasonable care and skill in the woman's case. The patient was referred to Southland Hospital by her GP in 2021 for recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding.

Patient Voice Aotearoa chair Malcolm Mulholland wants the government to review all histology testing done by Awanui Labs in Invercargill between 2021 and 2023.

"Awanui did not disclose to the Health and Disability Commissioner who looked into that case that they had effectively stopped providing histology service out of Invercargill," Mulholland said.

"I believe that if that knowledge had have come to light, then it could have been that the Health and Disability Commissioner recommend that a wider look be taken at the practices of the lab."

Mulholland said pathologists have raised concerns about testing practices and high workloads.

"My understanding is that in order to get the best results, you are best to conduct the biopsies where you are and then to subsequently, at that very place, have the pathology undertaken, as opposed to transporting it off-site to another lab that might be 2, 2 1/2 hours up the road," he said.

Awanui Labs confirmed the patient's tests were sent to Dunedin, a practice in place for Southland since 2020. The company said the Health and Disability Commissioner was aware of this arrangement during its investigation.

The lab rejected claims that patient safety was compromised by workload pressures or staffing levels, saying it continuously monitors these factors across its network.