Planning and Funding
P O Box 1600,
Telephone: 0064 3 364 4130
CHRISTCHURCH
Fax: 0064 3 364 4165
[email address]
4 May 2020
Amy Van Wey Lovatt
By email: [FYI request #12108 email]; Dear Ms Van Wey Lovatt
RE Official information request CDHB 10306 and WCDHB 9423
We are writing to acknowledge your email dated 3 April 2020 to the Ministry of Health which they
subsequently partially transferred to Canterbury DHB and West Coast DHB on 1 May 2020 requesting
the following information with regard to consumers rights and physicians’ obligations.
Specifically, the
Ministry has transferred to us the following:
According to the Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights) Regulations
1996, Right 6 clause 3 (c),"Every consumer has the right to honest and accurate answers to questions relating to services,
including questions about...(c) how to obtain an opinion from another provider;". Further, Right 7 clause 8 states: "Every
consumer has the right to express a preference as to who will provide services and have that preference met where
practicable." According to the MoH Operational Policy Framework 2019/20, available through Nationwide Service
Framework Librar
y https://nsfl.health.govt.nz; section 7.5.2 "Regions should ensure that clear referral pathways are in
place and known to all clinicians."
Background
I am a New Zealand citizen. Waikato DHB, my DHB of Domicile (DoD), has insisted that my GP provide a referral to services
outside my DoD; however, when my GP referred me to the Southern DHB, the only DHB we could find which had a protocol
consistent with the Endocrine Societies Guidelines for testing for hyper aldosteronism, the Southern DHB rejected the
referral on the grounds that the referral was from my GP and not my specialist, Dr Wu, at my DoD. Clearly, Waikato DHB
and Southern DHB cannot both be correct, as they contradict each other. [The statement, referrals must be from GPs AND
referrals cannot be from GPs, is logically false.]
1. I respectfully request a copy of each referral pathway for each region in New Zealand.
We will consider your request against the provisions of the Official Information Act (see below) and
advise you of our decision regarding the release of information within 20 working days (being the
statutory timeframe provided within the Act.) Accordingly, we will notify you, no later than 1 June
2020 of our decision.
It should be noted that many key staff involved with the sourcing and preparation of material for
your request are also directly involved with work associated with COVID-19. This may impact on our
ability to respond to certain OIA requests within normal time frames.
15 Decisions on requests
(1) Subject to this Act, the department or Minister of the Crown or organisation to whom a request is made in accordance wit
h section 12
or is transferred in accordance wit
h section 14 of this Act o
r section 12 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act
1987 shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which the request is received
by that department or Minister of the Crown or organisation,—
(1)(a) decide whether the request is to be granted and, if it is to be granted, in what manner and for what charge (if any); and
(1)(b) give or post to the person who made the request notice of the decision on the request
[If we are unable to make a decision on your request by the date noted above, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.]
Your request is being handled by Kathleen Smitheram. If you have any queries, please feel free to
contact either myself (details above) or Kathleen.
([email address]; Phone 364-
4134). Please refer to the OIA number above when phoning or emailing.
If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to
contact us so that these can be taken into account.
Yours sincerely
Wayne Turp
Project Specialist
15 Decisions on requests
(1) Subject to this Act, the department or Minister of the Crown or organisation to whom a request is made in accordance wit
h section 12
or is transferred in accordance wit
h section 14 of this Act o
r section 12 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act
1987 shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which the request is received
by that department or Minister of the Crown or organisation,—
(1)(a) decide whether the request is to be granted and, if it is to be granted, in what manner and for what charge (if any); and
(1)(b) give or post to the person who made the request notice of the decision on the request
[If we are unable to make a decision on your request by the date noted above, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.]
