The new firm in charge of community medical testing for the Auckland region has boosted staff to cope with a deluge of calls from doctors and the public.
A staged shift of all medical testing for the region was completed on Monday, when Lab Tests formally took over the entire multimillion-dollar contract for the work from Diagnostic Medlab Limited.
The contract shift was complete when Lab Tests took over the last remaining district health board area in Auckland, in Waitemata.
Complaints led DHBs to say on Monday that they are looking for a service improvement over time.
Lab Tests says it has gone from handling up to 1700 calls a day to up to 3000 on Monday.
The company has added seven staff and improved the flow of calls to its call centre, which it believes should largely deliver the improvement sought.
It says such pressures were to be expected with a new service.
