Kia ora
 
Thank you for your request for official information received on 16 May
2023 for:
 
The Ministry received this advice from Medsafe's manager of compliance
Derek Fitzgerald.

“If the ministry advocated that certain medicines be used off-label, this
could come in for criticism as a potential breach of the [Medicines Act
1981]...

... You may wish to obtain a legal opinion on the information the ministry
publishes/wishes to publish on this.”

Until recently, the Ministry published advice to the public on its website
in regard to the safety and reversibility of chemical puberty blockade for
treating childhood gender distress.

This is an off-label use of certain medicines.

I am asking if the Ministry did seek legal advice in regard to its
advocacy for this off-label use.

I am also asking for any documents pertaining to this advice. Including
documentation of requests made to, and responses from legal advisory.

 
The Ministry's reference number for your request is: H2023025372.
 
As required under the Official Information Act 1982, the Ministry will
endeavour to respond to your request no later than [1]20 working days
after the day your request was received.  
 
If we are unable to respond to your request within this time frame, we
will notify you of an extension of that time frame.
 
If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to
get in touch.
 
Ngâ mihi
 
OIA Services Team 
 

------------------- Original Message -------------------
From: Sunil Williams <[FOI #22818 email]>;
Received: Tue May 16 2023 11:39:21 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>; OIA <[email address]>;
Subject: Official Information request - Has the Ministry of Health sought
legal opinion in regard to publishing information on the use endocrine
disrupting chemicals for children seeking to prevent purbertal
development?

Dear Ministry of Health,

The Ministry received this advice from Medsafe's manager of compliance
Derek Fitzgerald.

“If the ministry advocated that certain medicines be used off-label, this
could come in for criticism as a potential breach of the [Medicines Act
1981]...

... You may wish to obtain a legal opinion on the information the ministry
publishes/wishes to publish on this.”

Until recently, the Ministry published advice to the public on its website
in regard to the safety and reversibility of chemical puberty blockade for
treating childhood gender distress.

This is an off-label use of certain medicines.

I am asking if the Ministry did seek legal advice in regard to its
advocacy for this off-label use.

I am also asking for any documents pertaining to this advice. Including
documentation of requests made to, and responses from legal advisory.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Sunil Williams

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Kia ora Sunil
Please find attached a letter regarding your request for information

Ngā mihi 

  

OIA Services Team

Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health

M[1]inistry of Health information releases 
U[2]nite against COVID-19 

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Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
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References

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2. https://covid19.govt.nz/

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