Two pathology clinics in Tauranga have had temporary closures because of staff shortages.

Sick staff forced the closure of Te Puke and Ōtūmoetai Pathlab collection facilities.

The Te Puke clinic has been closed six days in the last month and Ōtūmoetai has been closed four times. Both clinics have been closed for one day this week.

Pathlab chief executive Dianne McQueen says the decision to close collection facilities was difficult and not taken lightly.

The decision to close a facility was made at 6.30am after staff advised they couldn’t work because of illness, she says.

Closures were decided once all other options were exhausted, says McQueen.

The wellbeing of phlebotomists (those trained to take blood) and the health of patients was also taken into consideration, she says.

All clinicians were told about the closures before 7.30am that day so they could advise patients, says McQueen.

The closures were also communicated through the Pathlab website, social media and Google.

The website also included details and opening times of the other Pathlab facilities in the area people could use as an alternative, says McQueen.

The nearest collection site to Te Puke is Pāpāmoa, which McQueen says was usually only a 17 minute drive away.

Alternative sites for Ōtūmoetai were in Bethlehem and 2nd Ave in Tauranga, which were both a 10 minute drive away.

The Greerton Pathlab facility reopened in April 2023 after being closed for a year. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

“To minimise disruption to the service and ensure that we have continuity of service, we continue in our efforts with ongoing recruitment to address the ongoing staff shortages and to bolster our team.”

Pathlab was recruiting eight full time employees for patient services, she says.

The temporary closures come after some clinics were closed for over a year because of staff shortages.

Between 2022 and 2023, 29 staff transferred, retired or left Pathlab for other positions, says McQueen.

The Ōtūmoetai clinic closed in November 2021 and reopened last year.

The Greerton site was closed from April 2022 for a year and the Mount Maunganui facility was closed for 10 months from September 2022. Other sites operated on reduced hours.

During this time some patients were waiting over an hour for tests at Pathlab clinics.

Ōtūmoetai resident Paula Bilbe previously told Local Democracy Reporting it was “nothing unusual” to wait an hour and 20 minutes for a test.

Pathlab recruited more than 30 staff in order to reopen the clinics.

As of Wednesday all Pathlab sites are open with Ōtūmoetai closing early that day.

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora provide funding for laboratory testing services.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.