By Rosalind Russell – Two Northern MPPs are advocating for LifeLabs services to be maintained in Sudbury rather than centralized in southern Ontario.
Earlier this year, American-owned LifeLabs announced it was scaling back its operations in Sudbury, leading to the elimination of 40 jobs, and centralizing services to their labs in Toronto and Mississauga.
However, Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas and Sudbury MPP Jamie West opposed the move at Queen’s Park yesterday calling on Premier Doug Ford to maintain the services in the North.
LifeLabs Vice President of Medical and Quality Affairs, Dr. Catherine Ross, states by consolidating routine testing into large, 24/7 laboratories, LifeLabs can invest in advanced diagnostic technologies while meeting growing demand.
She adds LifeLabs will continue to operate a dedicated laboratory capacity in Sudbury for specialized and the most time-sensitive types of testing, maintaining their commitment to patients and healthcare providers in Northeastern Ontario.
Both MPPs say if there is growing demand, it is important to have the labs closer to clients, not further away, and that local health care workers need access to training in the North.
Both say they will continue to fight the move and are waiting for a response from the Ministry of Health.
Most routine tests currently performed in Sudbury will transition by May 17th.
Screenshot by Rosalind Russell
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