25 March 2026
Kai Ding
[FYI request #33927 email]
Tēnā koe Kai
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00201361
Thank you for your email on 4 March 2026, asking Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for the
following under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA):
Historical ESPI data (ESPI 1, 2, 3, 5, 8) from January 2019 to present, broken down by
District and Specialty — in the same CSV format as the current ESPI web tool
(tewhatuora.shinyapps.io/ESPI_app/) but covering the full period rather than just the latest
12 months.
Response
For the sake of clarity, I will set out and address each ESPI in turn.
ESPI 1 – Acknowledgement and Processing of Referrals
This data measures the timeliness with which district services acknowledge and process referrals
for a first specialist assessment (FSA). Under this measure, patients and their primary care
practitioners should be advised within 15 calendar days whether an FSA is indicated and can be
provided within four months. Where an FSA is not offered, information on alternative care options
should be provided where relevant. ESPI 1 sets an expectation that more than 90 percent of all
referrals are appropriately acknowledged and processed within this 15 day timeframe. Please see
Appendix One for this information.
Please note the data provided within Appendix One covers the period up to the latest reporting
month (December 2025).
Please also note that the data provided within this response is provisional and may be updated, as
it has not yet undergone the full quality assurance process.
ESPI 2 – Patients Waiting Longer Than Four Months for a First Specialist Assessment
This data monitors the number of patients who wait longer than four months for their first specialist
assessment (FSA). Under this measure, all patients who have been accepted for an FSA should
be seen within four months of the date of referral. The intent of ESPI 2 is to ensure timely access
to specialist care, with the goal of having no patients waiting more than four months for an FSA.
Please see
Appendix Two for this information.
Please note the data provided within Appendix Two covers the period up to the latest reporting
month (December 2025). Counts between 1 and 4 have been withheld to protect the privacy of
natural persons under section 9(2)(a) of the OIA. This is represented in the appendix as ‘<5’ in the
relevant column.
It is important to note the data provided within this response is provisional and may be updated, as
it has not yet undergone the full quality assurance process.
ESPI 3 – Patients Above the Actual Treatment Threshold Without a Commitment to
Treatment
This data measures the number of patients who have a priority score higher than the actual
treatment threshold (aTT) but who have not yet received a commitment to treatment. Services use
historical treatment patterns to estimate the volume of patients they can treat within four months,
assuming resources and patient mix remain consistent. Patients with the highest clinical priority,
determined by a numerical scoring system, should be committed to treatment first. The actual
treatment threshold is calculated as the 10th centile priority score of all patients treated in the
previous 12 months, acknowledging that services may occasionally treat patients with lower priority
scores. In principle, services should be able to treat all patients whose priority score is above this
threshold. ESPI 3 therefore monitors any patients above the aTT who are still waiting without a
treatment commitment, with the goal of having no patients in this category. Please see
Appendix
Three for this information.
Please note the data provided within Appendix Three covers the period up to the latest reporting
month (December 2025). Counts between 1 and 4 have been withheld to protect the privacy of
natural persons under section 9(2)(a) of the OIA. This is represented in the appendix as ‘<5’ in the
relevant column.
Please also note that the data provided within this response is provisional and may be updated, as
it has not yet undergone the full quality assurance process.
ESPI 5 – Patients Given a Commitment to Treatment but Not Treated Within Four Months
This data measures the number of patients who have received a commitment to treatment but
have not been treated within four months of that commitment being made. Under this measure,
once a service has confirmed that treatment will be provided, the patient should receive that
treatment within the four month timeframe. The goal of ESPI 5 is to ensure that no patients with a
confirmed commitment to treatment remain untreated beyond four months. Please see
Appendix
Four for this information.
Please note the data provided within Appendix Four covers the period up to the latest signed off
reporting month (December 2025). Counts between 1 and 4 have been withheld to protect the
privacy of natural persons under section 9(2)(a) of the OIA. This is represented in the appendix as
‘<5’ in the relevant column.
In addition, please note that the data provided within this response is provisional and may be
updated, as it has not yet undergone the full quality assurance process.
ESPI 8 – Proportion of Patients Prioritised Using Nationally Recognised Tools
This data measures the proportion of patients who were prioritised for treatment using nationally
recognised processes or tools. A range of prioritisation tools is available to support clinicians in
assigning priority scores to patients. Tools that meet specified criteria are registered within the
national information system as national or nationally recognised tools. This indicator reports the
percentage of patients whose prioritisation was completed using one of these approved tools. The
goal for ESPI 8 is for all patients to be prioritised using nationally recognised processes or tools.
Please see
Appendix Five for this information.
Please note the data provided within Appendix Five covers the period up to the latest signed off
reporting month (December 2025). Counts between 1 and 4 have been withheld to protect the
privacy of natural persons under section 9(2)(a) of the OIA. This is represented in the appendix as
‘<5’ in the relevant column. In addition, the data provided within this response is provisional and
may be updated, as it has not yet undergone the full quality assurance process.
Collectively, these indicators provide an overview of how specialist services acknowledge referrals,
assess patients, allocate treatment priority, and deliver care within expected timeframes. The
attached appendices present the relevant data for each ESPI, noting the applicable definitions,
expectations, and measurement approaches. The associated datasets are provisional, subject to
change, and includes suppression (withheld under section 9(2)(a)) where required to protect the
privacy of natural persons.
Where we have withheld information under section 9 of the OIA, we have also considered any
countervailing public interests in the release of this information. We do not believe that the public
interests outweigh the need to withhold in this instance.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us a
t [email address].
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
Danielle Coe
Manager (OIAs), Government Services
