ST.
ANDREW HOSPITAL
SAH-LAB CLINICAL LABORATORY
Tumaway, Talisay, Batangas
Revision Code: 002 Page 1 of 3
Effectivity Date: May 2022
Document Title:
WORKLOAD POLICY
I. Introduction
Both health care providers and patients rely on the laboratory to provide timely and accurate
results, while the marketplace challenges us to reduce our costs and improve the patient
experience. With labor costs representing the greatest overall expense in the lab, it is
necessary to place the right people in the right place at the right time for the laboratory to
excel. Thus, the goal of every clinical laboratory is to strike a balance between overstaffing
situations that lead to financial waste and understaffing staffing situations that can
compromise patient care.
II. Purpose
The aim of the workload policy is to encourage the principles of equity, adaptability, agility,
and flexibility for the laboratory personnel to manage their workload in a way that is most
effective for them and in support of the mission, vision, and objectives of the St. Andrew
Hospital.
III. Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the Human Resource Department to provide an adequate number of
staff to each department.
The working schedule per month is done by the Chief Medical Technologist.
The responsibility for the allocation of workload ultimately lies with the Head of Laboratory. In
practical terms, a consultative process involving the lab personnel and, for example, the head
of hematology or each section of the laboratory is important to ensure quality by matching
workload requirements to the employee’s job, knowledge, and skills. There should be a clear
process for dealing with any concerns about workload, including whom to contact.
The Head of Laboratory is responsible for:
• workload allocation within the laboratory, setting work priorities and discussing with staff
the most efficient ways of achieving strategic goals
• consulting with staff in respect of the allocation of duties
• monitoring changes in workload and ongoing evaluation of the impact of workload
Prepared by: Recommended by: Approved by:
MonalynMarabi,M.D. Zenaida S. Mendoza, M.D. Mark Anthony S. Mendoza, M.D.
Laboratory Head Hospital Administrator Hospital Director
ST. ANDREW HOSPITAL
SAH-LAB CLINICAL LABORATORY
Tumaway, Talisay, Batangas
Revision Code: 002 Page 2 of 3
Effectivity Date: May 2022
Document Title:
WORKLOAD POLICY
• providing adequate support to staff.
• providing opportunity for and actively encourage staff to take annual leave, and to keep
records of annual leave.
• providing opportunities for and actively encouraging staff to take reasonable breaks from
work.
• carefully managing instances where staff are judged to be working excessive hours.
Laboratory Personnel/ Staff are responsible for:
• working efficiently and towards co-MedTech, patients and Laboratory goals.
• participating in discussions concerning workloads with the aim of reaching a common
understanding of the issues.
• reporting any workload difficulties and variations to Laboratory Manager or Chief Medical
Technologist.
IV. Key Principles
1. Every effort should be made to agree workload allocations. Where a member of
laboratory staff disagrees with their workload allocation, they should discuss this with their
laboratory manager or Chief Medical technologist.
2. There must be transparency to aid equality and equity of treatment of laboratory staff,
and a full understanding of the scheme by all staff.
3. Workloads should be compatible with reasonable expectations of work-life balance and
facilitate a healthy working environment.
4. Time should be made available during reasonable working hours for the full range of
laboratory operations. The detailed allocation of time will depend on the member of staff’s
balance of activities that will reflect their contract/career pathway. It is important that the
overall allocation incorporates the total workload.
5. Laboratory Staff should have access within normal working hours to reasonable
professional development time (and resource) for training appropriate to their job
description. Training and development needs will normally be identified through Annual
Review.
Prepared by: Recommended by: Approved by:
MonalynMarabi,M.D. Zenaida S. Mendoza, M.D. Mark Anthony S. Mendoza, M.D.
Laboratory Head Hospital Administrator Hospital Director
ST. ANDREW HOSPITAL
SAH-LAB CLINICAL LABORATORY
Tumaway, Talisay, Batangas
Revision Code: 002 Page 3 of 3
Effectivity Date: May 2022
Document Title:
WORKLOAD POLICY
6. The workload allocation should allow appropriate time for unscheduled activities such as
emergency cover, illness or some other unexpected development that may require
workloads to be adjusted during the year.
7. The working schedule should be sensitive to the effort/time required and should be based
on real time [not notional] values.
V. Policy
1. Working schedule per month is done by the Chief Medical technologist. The working
schedule is divided into three shifts: AM Shift, PM Shift and Night Shift.
2. Two Medical Technologist are required for every shift. In case, understaff occurs, for
example, one morning shift will cover the shift of the afternoon schedule by overtime to
compensate for the number of staff needed per duty.
3. Workload depends on the number of samples received in a day. The average census per
day, per month is logged, summarized, and interpreted per year. Usually, an average of
at least two medical technologists is already sufficed.
4. In case of above normal number of samples received in the laboratory, such as APE, the
Chief Medical Technologist should inform the Head of the Laboratory to allocate another
lab personnel or an available reliver to compensate workload.
5. The turn-around time, usually for routine examinations, is one hour after receipt of the
specimen. For STAT examinations from ER is 30 minutes. In case of above number of
samples like APE, the usual turnaround time is 3 days to maximum of 5 days depending
on number of APE.
Prepared by: Recommended by: Approved by:
MonalynMarabi,M.D. Zenaida S. Mendoza, M.D. Mark Anthony S. Mendoza, M.D.
Laboratory Head Hospital Administrator Hospital Director
