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The long-running battle for Auckland's half a billion dollar community laboratory contract has taken another twist with the Court of Appeal handing it back to Australian-owned rival Labtests.
Incumbent provider Diagnostic Medlab (DML) won a High Court ruling last year after it lost the tendering process for the $560 million eight year contract.
But that ruling has been tossed out.
Labtests says there will be very little change for Auckland patients needing blood and other tests and it is confident it will have its entire operation up and running within nine months.
But Diagnostic Medlab, which currently runs the service, says the latest decision is a blow to its staff, GPs and patients in Auckland.
It has been a bitter fight with protests by Diagnostic Medlab staff outside Auckland Hospital after it awarded the contract to Labtests.
Diagnostic Medlab claimed, and the High Court agreed, that there was an improper use of insider information by former Labtests' boss Tony Bierre before he resigned from the Auckland District Health Board.
The High Court also ruled the three Auckland DHBs did not consult widely enough.
But the Court of Appeal has overturned all of that, saying the health boards did consult properly and Dr Bierre acted appropriately once his conflict of interest arose.
But the battle still may not be over. Diagnostic Medlab says it
is extremely disappointed at Thursday's ruling and it says it will
now apply for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
