Kia ora,

I’m making this Official Information Act request as part of ADHDInquiryNZ, a grassroots, unfunded, and non-partisan volunteer initiative supporting a public petition calling for a Parliamentary inquiry into systemic harm to people with ADHD in Aotearoa. This request focuses on information held by your agency to help identify how ADHD is currently recognised across national health systems. The information gathered from this and related requests will help identify patterns across agencies and contribute to evidence provided to the Petitions Committee when the petition period closes. I appreciate the time involved in OIA responses.

Please treat this as a request for official information under the OIA. I am requesting the specific information listed below. I understand the agency’s obligation to assist under s 13 and that a decision should be made within 20 working days of receipt (transfer within 10 working days). If any part of this request requires clarification, please let me know no later than 5 working days from receipt. If an extension under s 15A is needed, please state the reason and duration. This request is confined to information held by Te Whatu Ora; please do not transfer for commentary.

Timeframe:
This request covers the period from 1 July 2022 (when Te Whatu Ora was established) to the date this request is received.

Format:
Where datasets, tables, or modelling outputs are provided, please supply them in machine-readable format (CSV or original spreadsheet file) with accompanying data dictionaries or field definitions.

Scope clarification:
I am not seeking internal email chains, drafts, or personal information about individuals unless they are the only record of the substantive information described.

Please provide:

1. Service Settings
Any operational policies, service specifications, referral pathways, or clinical pathways (2022–present) relating to ADHD assessment, initiation, prescribing, shared care, follow-up, or discharge across:
-primary care
-secondary services
-specialist/tertiary services
-mental health services (youth and adult)

2. Workforce Roles and Pathway Clarity
Any documents clarifying the respective roles of psychiatrists, paediatricians, psychologists, GPs, nurse practitioners, or any other professionals in ADHD assessment and management since 2022.

3. Data and Monitoring
Any indicators, measures, reporting frameworks, audits, dashboards, or monitoring tools that explicitly track ADHD-related:
-assessment
-treatment or prescribing
-access and wait times
-follow-up
-outcomes
-unmet need

If ADHD is recorded under broader categories (e.g., mental health, neurodevelopmental disorder), please specify which.

If no ADHD-specific indicators exist, please confirm this.

4. Data Visibility in National Collections
Please confirm whether Te Whatu Ora currently captures ADHD diagnosis data within any national or regional collections, including but not limited to:
-NMDS
-PRIMHD
-primary care data hubs
-any Te Whatu Ora data warehouse or analytic environment

Please also state from what date this has been possible.

5. IDI and Population Analytics
Given recent IDI research demonstrating clear health-outcome disparities for neurodivergent youth, please provide any documents showing whether Te Whatu Ora has:
a. considered
b. commissioned
c. contributed to, or
d. internally discussed

any ADHD-specific population-level analysis or monitoring using the IDI or internal linked datasets since July 2022.

6. Equity, Gaps, and Access Issues
Any correspondence, briefings, or analysis since 2022 that identifies:
-access gaps
-wait time inequities
-regional inconsistencies
-cultural-safety concerns
-workforce or service limitations
-supply issues relating to ADHD medicines, assessment capacity, or follow-up
-disparities experienced by Māori, Pacific, or Rainbow+/Takatāpui populations

Please include any actions taken or proposed.

7. Public-Facing Materials
Any public-facing ADHD-related resources, web content, fact sheets, or guidance produced or funded by Te Whatu Ora since 2022.

If none exist, please confirm this.

If information is not held
If Te Whatu Ora does not hold some or all of the information requested, that absence itself helps clarify how ADHD is currently tracked and managed across the system. Identifying such gaps is part of building the evidence base for an informed, coordinated response.

Please confirm if the information is not held, and include any documents or correspondence that record a decision not to collect or monitor ADHD-related information. If applicable, please also indicate how related matters are categorised (for example, under mental health, disability, or neurodevelopmental conditions).

Ngā mihi,
Elspeth Baker-Vevers