21 August 2019
Mr Brodie Fraser
Email:
[FYI request #10544 email]
Dear Mr Fraser
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT REQUEST – GENDER REASSIGNMENT
SURGERY – OIA TRANSFER REF H201904459
Thank you for your OIA request partially transferred to the Waikato DHB from the
Ministry of Health NZ on 20 June 2019 regarding gender reassignment surgery.
The Ministry of Health partially transferred parts four and five of your OIA request
outlined below for the Waikato DHB to provide answers.
1.
How many, if any, surgeons in New Zealand perform sex reassignment
surgery?
2.
What, if any, types of sex reassignment surgery are performed in New
Zealand, and what, if any, types are only performed overseas?
3.
If there are any sex reassignment surgeries performed overseas, does the
ministry intend to bring these services to New Zealand?
4.
How many, if any, transgender individuals have been referred to endocrine
services in New Zealand in the past five years, broken down by year?
5.
How many, if any, transgender individuals have been referred to endocrine
services in New Zealand in the past five years, broken down by DHB?
6.
What, if any, is the size of the current waiting list for Male to Female
surgeries?
7.
What, if any, is the size of the current waiting list for Female to Male
surgeries?
8.
How long does the ministry anticipate it would take for everyone currently on
the Male to Female waiting list to be seen?
9.
How long does the ministry anticipate it would take for everyone currently on
the Female to Male waiting list to be seen?
4.
How many, if any, transgender individuals have been referred to
endocrine services in New Zealand in the past five years, broken down
by year?
Our referral system does not easily identify patients who are transgender.
However, we have been able to identify nine patients who were referred to
endocrinology services with gender reassignment related issues over the past
five years from 2015 – 2019, with no referrals reported in 2017.
The numbers broken down by years are small (that is <5); we have therefore
withheld this information under Sections 18(a) and 9(2)(a) of the Official
Information Act 1982 in order to protect the privacy of natural persons, and
we do not consider that the public interest in the release of the information
outweighs the need to withhold it.
5.
How many, if any, transgender individuals have been referred to
endocrine services in New Zealand in the past five years, broken down
by DHB?
Further to our answer provided to part four of your request, numbers broken
down by DHB as requested are small (that is <5); we have therefore withheld
this information under Sections 18(a) and 9(2)(a) of the Official Information
Act 1982 in order to protect the privacy of natural persons, and we do not
consider that the public interest in the release of the information outweighs
the need to withhold it.
You have the right to request the Ombudsman investigate and review the decision to
withhold information. The Ombudsman’s postal address is:
The Ombudsman
Office of the Ombudsmen
P O Box 10-152
WELLINGTON
Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in responding to your request.
Yours sincerely
Ron Dunham
Interim Chief Operating Officer
Waikato District Health Board