Laboratory staff to go by the end of the month

The Medical Scientists Association of Victoria sought an extension on the redundancies at the FWC last week, and an ACL spokesman said the company reached an agreement with the union to move the date from June 9 to June 30.

The MSAV took the dispute to the FWC after its members said they would not feel comfortable performing certain tests without the supervision of the expert microbiologists, but the spokeswoman said 24-hour support was provided to laboratory staff.

“In hospital laboratories including the one at Bendigo hospital, the majority of Clinical Labs staff are multi-skilled and they are trained to perform urgent microbiology tests,” she said.

“Over the next few weeks, Clinical Labs will consult with employees at the Bendigo laboratory of any training required to ensure that scientists who will perform these tests feel competent and confident to do so.”

Dozens of senior medical staff at the hospital have voiced their concerns about the changes, which they say will put patients at risk, and state healthcare safety agency Safer Care Victoria launched an investigation into the matter last month.