What does this mean for the future?

Dorevitch Pathology is set to take over the contract for the provision of pathology services to Western Health, which includes the Western General Hospital and Sunshine Hospital, tomorrow, 1 October 2011. The contract was previously held by Melbourne Health.

The MSAV was assured by the CEO of Western Health, Kath Cook, by Western Health HR and by Dorevitch Pathology that all scientists made redundant by Melbourne Health as a result of the loss of the WH contract, would be made an offer of employment with Dorevitch.

We were also told by Kath Cook that Dorevitch would be offering a 24/7 on site microbiology service at WH.

Kath Cook, in an Email to the MSAV on 27 July 2011

I am concerned that after the extensive communications of the past few weeks, you are still unclear on so many of the issues for your members affected by the change to our pathology services provider.

To clarify, the common position of Western Health, Melbourne Health and Dorevitch is as follows:

Dorevitch will make offers to all affected Melbourne Health employees

In the event, Dorevitch did not make offers to all affected scientists employed by Melbourne Health; which would appear to be a deliberate breach of its contract with Western Health, and of undertakings it gave to the MSAV.

The area where it did not make offers to all scientists is microbiology, which calls into the question the capacity of Dorevitch to offer a 24/7 on site microbiology service.

We have followed up the breach with Western Health management which is reluctant to hold Dorevitch to account.

It seems to us that once a private provider gets a contract, public health services appear to lose their will to enforce the contractual arrangements entered into.

We fear for the future of pathology in the west.

We have been asked whether we expect the hospitals to terminate contracts where there have been breaches – our answer is “of course - or at least try enforcement”.