14 August 2023
Aaron Goodwin
[FYI request #23502 email]
Tēnā koe Aaron
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00025717
Thank you for your email on 16 July 2023, asking for the following which has been
considered under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act):
“Please provide figures for the following occurrences over a 5 year time period:
1. Patients presenting to a public hospital emergency department that were not
admitted to a ward, and whom subsequently died of an ailment related to their
presenting complaint within a 24 hour period after discharge
2. The same as request 1, but for patients who were traiged and later decided to
leave the waiting room before being evaluated in the emergency department
3. Patients who had concerns relating to chest pain whose patient notes show were
dismissed as having anxiety or dismissed as experiencing somatic manifestations
who within the next week had an adverse cardiac incident or died as a consequence
of cardiac issues
Context: The third example relates to something that happened to me, (which I am
happy to declare here fully informed that this request is made public) having been
dismissed as anxious and then later found to have had elevated levels of troponin -
resulting in a cardiology ward stay. I am interested to know how frequently this type
of medical negligence/malpractice is occurring.
Please note that I am only requesting figures and not personally identifiable
information.”
While the Act allows New Zealanders to ask for information from Ministers and government
agencies, there is no requirement for agencies to create new information, or compile
information they do not hold. Therefore, your request is refused under section 18(g) of the
Act on the grounds that it is not held by Te Whatu Ora.
It may be helpful if we explain why this is the case. We hold data on emergency department
(ED) presentations with the relevant cardiac-related codes. We can filter this information to
identify the subset of those people who were not admitted to a ward, that is, people who
were treated in ED and not admitted. If people are not admit ed, they leave the ED and go
home. The hospital system does not then continue to collect information on those patients
who, having been treated, return home.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[Health New Zealand request email].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800 802 602.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Michael Cleary
Acting OIA Manager
Government Services
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
