Canada

Archive: [ https://archive.is/sSSR5 ]

Conditions quickly deteriorated when Alberta transitioned to provincewide service with the company, he wrote.

Waiting times for community lab tests increased from a few days to five weeks in some areas. There were also unusually high numbers of errors in pathology results. In the last three weeks of July, 2023, the report says, more than 600 patients had to retake tests because of a logistics issue AHS had discovered.

Mr. Wylie wrote there were “persistent issues” in governance and oversight throughout the procurement process. Neither AHS nor Alberta’s health department followed their processes to prepare a business case for outsourcing lab services, he wrote, and AHS continued with procurement “despite knowing that the main objective of cost savings was likely unattainable.”