(St. John’s, NL) – Jerry Earle, President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE), is sounding the alarm on the severe shortage of Medical Laboratory Assistants (MLAs) in the province’s healthcare system.
Today, NL Health Services issued a notice announcing a temporary reduction in services at the Health Sciences Centre, including no routine blood collection for inpatients, outpatients, clinics, or emergency on September 17, 2025. This comes on the heels of a similar internal memorandum on September 12, which saw inpatient blood collection delayed and cancelled at both the Health Sciences Centre and St. Clare’s Hospital.
“This is simply unacceptable,” said Earle. “Patients are being denied critical care, facing major delays in diagnosis and treatment, and even experiencing postponed discharges from acute care beds. At the same time, staff are being left to carry impossible workloads under awful working conditions. This situation is devastating for both patients and the frontline workers who are doing their absolute best despite being short-staffed and unsupported.”
Medical Laboratory Assistants play a crucial role in the healthcare system. They are responsible for collecting, labelling, and preparing blood, and other samples — often serving as the first point of contact for patients beginning their medical journey.
Earle also noted the harm caused to patients who receive little or no notice of cancellations stating “People may have travelled from anywhere in the province for bloodwork, only to find out that services have been cancelled when they arrive. That is unacceptable and shows just how dire the situation has become.”
NAPE is calling on government and healthcare authorities to take immediate action to address the staffing crisis, both to protect patients and to ensure frontline workers are supported.
“This problem has been building for some time and government has knows about it, but it has now reached a crisis point. The province cannot allow this to continue — the health and safety of patients, and the well-being of staff, depend on urgent action,” said Earle.
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