Dr. Nash Denic said Eastern Health's pathology lab will soon be among the best in Canada. (CBC)

A St. John's pathology lab that was at the heart of an often-searing inquiry into breast cancer mistakes will soon be among the finest in the country, the authority managing it says.

Eastern Health's lab came in for serious scrutiny — and criticism — in the Cameron inquiry's final report, which was released last week.

Justice Margaret Cameron found that technologists had not been trained thoroughly, were not following best practices, and were working in an environment that had almost no quality control or oversight on hormone receptor tests.

Cameron studied how almost 400 cancer patients were given inaccurate results between 1997 and 2005.

Dr. Nash Denic, the chief pathologist who took on the role after Eastern Health became mired in a testing scandal, said much has already been accomplished in raising the standards of the lab.

"This is not the laboratory that's been described in Madame Cameron's report anymore," said Denic.

In the last few years, breast cancer tissues samples have been sent outside Newfoundland and Labrador for testing, while Eastern Health tackled improvements in its own testing procedures.

Hormone receptor testing — which helps determine whether a cancer patient can benefit from antihormonal therapy, primarily Tamoxifen — will not resume for several more months. Denic said when the decision is made to resume testing, the public will be able to trust the lab's work.

"I can assure you for the quality that's going to come again, and we're going be on the level — if not beyond the level — of the best hospitals in the country," Denic said.

Dr. Oscar Howell, the vice-president of medical services at Eastern Health, said pathologists and lab technologists have been practising while the lab has been out of service.

"We've been doing the testing and comparing our results over quite a period of time," said Howell, adding that staff have visited medical labs across the country, and have been making improvements based on what they have seen and learned.

For instance, pathologists will team up to read results, and additional training has been supplied to lab staff.

The health authority has also started a review of the work of six of its pathologists, to look for other possible mistakes. It's not known how long that review will take.