Interior Health maintains closing the lab at the downtown medical building in Trail and moving staff to Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital is the best use of limited staffing.
Program Director of Pathology and Lab Services Joanne Isber says the national shortage of health care workers has hit K-B-R-H, which has the regional testing lab.
“It’s used for collections and patient testing for hospital based needs, the emergency department, I-C-U, in-patient wards, cancer care, surgical services and the staff from the Trail Health Centre will now be re-positioned to the hospital to provide a better level of service,” Isber explained.
Isber said administrators are working on freeing up parking at K-B-R-H for lab patients.
She also pointed out a bus route is available from the downtown to Waneta Plaza where Life Labs is located and staff will help patients get set up on the Life Labs portal.
Most outpatient lab work is moving to Life Labs.
The I-H-A spokesperson on the lab decision admits there are issues to overcome.
“Yes, I think there are going to be a few bumps to work out, but we are committed to making this as streamlined and stress free for our patients as possible,” Isber maintained.
Trail City Councillor Thia Hanson and Mayor Colleen Jones are among officials critical about a lack of consultation before Friday’s announcement.
Isber says area doctors were aware of the plan.
“We had connected on the physician’s side and we will continue to do that,” she explained.
“We aren’t transitioning until July 28th, so we are giving some time for patients to adjust,” Isber added, noting an assessment process with partners at the Provincial Health Authority and Ministry of Health.
“Patient feedback is being noted, it will be discussed with those partners and will stay connected to Life Labs and evaluate the impact to this transition,” stated Isber.
The Beaver Valley lab in Fruitvale closed at the end of February.
The operators of the private facility said the new accreditation program from the College of Physicians and Surgeons made it unsustainable.
Isber says those patients have been successfully transitioning to Life Labs.
She also maintains there are no additional lab closures in the West Kootenay planned at this time.
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