Policy on requests from third party providers of pathology specimens for second opinion
Amy S Van Wey Lovatt (Account suspended) made this Official Information request to Taranaki District Health Board
Response to this request is long overdue. By law Taranaki District Health Board should have responded by now (details and exceptions). The requester can complain to the Ombudsman.
From: Amy S Van Wey Lovatt (Account suspended)
Dear DHB,
I am a New Zealand citizen, which is demonstrated by the fact that the MoH has already confirmed my citizenship prior to responding to my OIA requests (or a google search of my name).
The Royal College of Pathologists Australasia has a policy titled "Provision of second opinions with particular reference to morphological examination", which addresses the best practice with regards to referral for second and subsequent opinion of pathology specimens.
Request 1:
I respectfully request your DHB's policy on second opinions requested by a third party who is a medical practitioner currently involved in the medical care of the patient from whom the pathological material was originally obtained.
Request 2:
In the event that your DHB deviates from the aforementioned RCPA policy, I request an explanation for why your DHB deviates from best practice.
Please note, my request does not reflect the standard of care provided at your DHB, but is to ascertain whether there is consistent adherence to RCPA best practice amongst all NZ DHBs.
Yours faithfully,
Amy S Van Wey Lovatt
From: Jenny McLennan [TDHB]
Taranaki District Health Board
Good Morning - This is to acknowledge receipt of your (second) OIA request and to advise that you can expect to receive a response on or before 21 April. Please note that this response timeline provides for Easter which has two 'not working' days.
It should be noted that many key staff involved with the sourcing and preparation of material for your OIA request may also be directly involved with work associated with COVID-19.
This may impact on our ability to respond to certain OIA requests within normal time frames. We will notify you if this is the case.
Regards
Jenny McLennan
Personal Assistant to
Rosemary Clements
Chief Executive
T
06 753 7781
M
027 3444 214
E
[email address]
W
www.tdhb.org.nz
Taranaki District Health Board, David Street, Private Bag 2016, New Plymouth 4342
Taranaki Together, a Healthy Community Taranaki Whanui He Rohe Oranga
show quoted sections
From: Jenny McLennan [TDHB]
Taranaki District Health Board
Good Morning – Further to my previous email of 25 March acknowledging
receipt of your two OIA requests and advising that you could expect to
receive a response on or before 21 April we would now like to formally
decline your requests in accordance with the Official Information Act.
At this time we, along with other DHBs and many other agencies have
diverted significant resources across the organisation to support the
COVID-19 response.
Taranaki DHB is unable to respond to your request under 18(f) of the
Official Information Act, as the information cannot be made available with
the same are people tasked with efforts for the COVID-19 response. Both
your requests are associated with Laboratory Services who are heavily
involved in the COVID-19 response. Taranaki DHB is not in a position to
commit the resources required to respond to your request at this time. It
is also not reasonable to extend the timeframe to respond at this time.
Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decision made under this request.
The health sector is working hard to ensure that the public is informed
about COVID-19, with information updated daily on the Ministry of Health’s
website at: [1]www.health.govt.nz
Regards
Jenny McLennan
Personal Assistant to
Rosemary Clements
Chief Executive
T 06 753 7781
M 027 3444 214
E [2][email address]
W [3]www.tdhb.org.nz
Taranaki District Health Board, David Street, Private Bag 2016, New
Plymouth 4342
Taranaki Together, a Healthy Community Taranaki Whanui He Rohe Oranga
[4]Te%20Ahu%20Taranaki%20DHB%20Values%20Email%20Signature
Taranaki DHB has a policy on acceptable use of email. If the content of
this
message is inappropriate or breaches your organisation's policy, please
contact the IT Service Desk to register a complaint.
Email: [5][email address]
This email has been scrubbed for your protection by SMX. For more
information visit [6]smxemail.com
References
Visible links
1. http://www.health.govt.nz/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.tdhb.org.nz/ http://www.healthintelligence.org.nz/ http://www.telecom.co.nz/
http://www.tdhb.org.nz/
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://smxemail.com/
From: Jenny McLennan [TDHB]
Taranaki District Health Board
Good Morning – Further to my previous email of 25 March acknowledging
receipt of your two OIA requests and advising that you could expect to
receive a response on or before 21 April we would now like to formally
decline your requests in accordance with the Official Information Act.
At this time we, along with other DHBs and many other agencies have
diverted significant resources across the organisation to support the
COVID-19 response.
Taranaki DHB is unable to respond to your request under 18(f) of the
Official Information Act, as the information cannot be made available with
the same are people tasked with efforts for the COVID-19 response. Both
your requests are associated with Laboratory Services who are heavily
involved in the COVID-19 response. Taranaki DHB is not in a position to
commit the resources required to respond to your request at this time. It
is also not reasonable to extend the timeframe to respond at this time.
Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decision made under this request.
The health sector is working hard to ensure that the public is informed
about COVID-19, with information updated daily on the Ministry of Health’s
website at: [1]www.health.govt.nz
Regards
Jenny McLennan
Personal Assistant to
Rosemary Clements
Chief Executive
T 06 753 7781
M 027 3444 214
E [2][email address]
W [3]www.tdhb.org.nz
Taranaki District Health Board, David Street, Private Bag 2016, New
Plymouth 4342
Taranaki Together, a Healthy Community Taranaki Whanui He Rohe Oranga
[4]Te%20Ahu%20Taranaki%20DHB%20Values%20Email%20Signature
Taranaki DHB has a policy on acceptable use of email. If the content of
this
message is inappropriate or breaches your organisation's policy, please
contact the IT Service Desk to register a complaint.
Email: [5][email address]
This email has been scrubbed for your protection by SMX. For more
information visit [6]smxemail.com
References
Visible links
1. http://www.health.govt.nz/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.tdhb.org.nz/ http://www.healthintelligence.org.nz/ http://www.telecom.co.nz/
http://www.tdhb.org.nz/
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://smxemail.com/
From: Amy S Van Wey Lovatt (Account suspended)
Dear Jenny McLennan [TDHB],
This is a gentle reminder that I am still waiting for the information I requested regarding your DHB's policy or description of your DHB's standard practice regarding requests from third party providers of pathology specimens for second opinion.
Again, I bring to your attention that according to the OIA, section 18(f) may not be invoked unless the conditions under section 18B have been met. These conditions have not been met and thus section 18(f) is not applicable. I do appreciate that Covid-19 has caused delays in responses, however, I trust that this is no longer an issue given that allegedly, NZ has beat Covid-19.
Yours sincerely,
Amy S Van Wey Lovatt
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A complaint was lodged with the Ombudsman on 17 June 2020.
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