Medical labs in Ontario are understaffed, more in-lab educators needed, organization says

As medical labs across Ontario remain understaffed, one medical association is calling on the province to expand labs’ capacity for student placements by funding positions to train them.

Of the labs in Ontario, 68 per cent are experiencing a shortage of medical lab technologists (MLTs), according to a recent survey by the Medical Laboratory Professionals Association of Ontario (MLPAO). Those are the behind-the-scenes scientists that test medical samples like blood work or nasal swab tests.

Their work is relied on in order to collect data on rates of certain illnesses, to investigate disease outbreaks and for doctors to accurately diagnose patients.

For many labs, the staffing strain is causing delays and increasing return times for test results, the 2025 report suggests, which means patients are waiting longer to hear back about cancer diagnoses or STI tests than they would otherwise.

Students in MLT programs are required to complete a clinical placement during their education, according to Michelle Hoad, CEO of the MLPAO.

Many labs in the province have waitlists for their placement programs, she said, so the shortage is not due to a lack of interest, but a bottleneck effect.

“When a lab is short-staffed, they're not able to take a student from that program,” she said.

The association is asking the province for $6 million over three years to go towards getting educators in labs.

Staffing at medical labs has been declining for over a decade, Hoad said, but the pandemic brought it to a boiling point.

“A lot of people were understaffed, overworked,” said Hoad. “A lot of people that were eligible to take retirement, took early retirement.”

Support needed to train students

In 2024, the province created 700 spots in MLT programs to educate new technologists, according to a statement from Ema Popovic, spokesperson for Health Minister Sylvia Jones.

The province also expanded the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant to include MLT students, said Popovic. The grant aims to incentivize students in health-care fields to remain in the province after they graduate by covering costs like tuition and books.

Popovic did not respond to CBC Toronto’s questions about whether the ministry received the association's request for funding or if it will be considered.

The MLPAO is thankful for the provincial government's investments in the medical laboratory workforce, the report says. But, Hoad said the labs are still suffering.

Many technicians take on double shifts or avoid taking vacation to support the labs’ workflow, said Hoad.

“It's a very giving group,” Hoad said. “But that being said, we need to make sure that we don't take advantage of them and we make sure that they're properly staffed."

Of labs in Ontario that do not take on students for clinical placements, 37 per cent said they would be able to if the trainer was funded by the government, according to the MLPAO study.