Southern District Health Board
Dunedin Hospital
201 Great King Street
Private Bag 1921
DUNEDIN, 9054
Chief Executive Officer
Phone 03-476 9448 Fax 03-476 9450
15 February 2016
Ms Megan Rae
JustSpeak
Email: [FYI request #3574 email]
Dear Ms Rae
Re: Official Information Act Request I refer to your Official Information Act request received by email on 22 January 2016 in which
you requested the following:
I am writing to request information regarding the waiting lists for prisoners requiring
inpatient mental health treatment through the Otago/Southland regional forensic
service. Specifically, I would like to know the total number of prisoners placed on the
waiting list for inpatient services during the course of the most recent year you have
records for; the length of time, in days, each prisoner spent on the waiting list.
We enclose a waiting list for potential admission to Ward 9A at Wakari Hospital, Dunedin.
There is no one from Invercargill Prison on this list because, ordinarily, Invercargill Prison will
transfer any patient needing possible admission to Otago Corrections Facility, for the Otago
team to manage until a bed becomes available at Ward 9A.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review of our decision by the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman's Office can be contacted on 0800 802 602 or on-line at
http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/. Yours sincerely
Carole Heatly
Chief Executive Officer
Cc:
Louise Travers, General Manager – Mental Health, Addictions and Intellectual Disability Directorate
1
Waiting List for potential admission to Ward 9A
There were a total of 16 prisoners placed on waiting lists in 2014-2015. Please see the below table for a breakdown of the length of time each individual
prisoner spent on the waiting list:
Year
Length of time broken down by
referred
individual prisoner
2014
9 days
9 days
2015
Did not require admission
2 days
Did not require admission
Did not require admission
Did not require admission
13 days
7 days
4 days
Did not require admission
2 days
48 days
Did not require admission
6 days
41 days
2
