As line-ups at Okanagan medical labs grow, so too do frustrations among those trying to get a blood test.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Kelowna resident Jerry Lakey.
The line-up was out the door Thursday morning at the Glenmore location, with many lining up long before the labs right across the Okanagan even opened.
“I’ve been trying for a week to get in and not wait an hour or two to get my blood tested,” Lakey said.
The complaints are also being widely shared on social media.
One recent Facebook post in a public group called Kelowna Rant and Rave garnered more than 500 comments.
Some of those comments include posts such as, “3–4 hour wait times for lab work are unacceptable”, “It’s pretty terrible that this is just the norm these days and we are expected to accept it,” and “It is ridiculous it took me three days to get my labs done with all the line-ups.”
“We have to have the testing done, but we have no choices really, ” said Kelowna resident Mary-Ann Danilowich outside the Glenmore lab. “Some people say drive to Peachland, but you know that’s a bit of an extreme thing to have to do.”
An option that is not always reliable, at least not recently.
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The Peachland facility is among the labs experiencing intermittent closures lately.
While residents can book appointments online, that too can be challenging.
*Making appointments is nearly impossible now,” said Kelowna resident Lexy Parks, who gets her blood tested regularly. “The option opens at midnight and they book three weeks in advance. It’s like buying concert tickets.”
A Dynacare phone agent confirmed that online bookings open up at midnight for an appointment typically three weeks later, but it may require a call in the middle of the night to guarantee a spot because they often get booked up in a matter of hours.
Many Okanagan residents say lab services have deteriorated under the ownership of DynaCare.
The U.S.-owned but Canadian-incorporated company acquired more than a dozen labs across the Okanagan starting in 2023.
In an email to Global News, a Dynacare spokesperson said, “We recognize the concerns that have been raised regarding recent service challenges, and we take this feedback very seriously and want to apologize to residents of the community for the frustrations they have experienced recently.”
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Corporate communications manager Laurie Wilhelm said skilled staffing shortages across the health care sector are largely contributing to the challenges, but added that the company is working to resolve the issues.
“We are working on a focused plan to improve service delivery to make meaningful, lasting improvements, including looking into the allocation of additional staff resources, so patients receive the high-quality care they deserve,” Wilhelm said.
Global News also reached out to B.C.’s Ministry of Health, which, in an email, said it is aware of the lab service challenges.
“This is not an isolated incident to one provider. Staffing pressures affecting lab services are being felt across public and private providers nationally and provincially,” the email stated.
Dynacare provides publicly funded outpatient laboratory services under the Medical Services Plan (MSP).
The ministry said it is currently exploring options to improve services, including performance oversight.
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