Planning and Funding P O Box 1600,
Telephone: 0064 3 364 4130
CHRISTCHURCH
Fax: 0064 3 364 4165
[email address]
25 May 2020
Nigel Gray
Email
: [FYI request #12827 email];
Dear Mr Gray
RE Official information request CDHB 10316 and WCDHB 9429
We are writing to acknowledge your email dated 11 May 2020 to the Ministry of Health which they have
subsequently partially transferred to us on 21 May 2020 requesting the following information from
Canterbury DHB and West Coast DHB under the Official Information Act. Specifically question 1 below.
1. Given that Electroconvulsive Treatment has been used as a method of torture historically in New Zealand,
can you please inform me of the precise number of these devices in NZ hospitals in present time?
We will consider your request against the provisions of the Official Information Act (see below) and advise you
of our decision regarding the release of information within 20 working days (being the statutory timeframe
provided within the Act.)
Accordingly, and taking into account the public holiday for Queens Birthday Weekend, we will notify you, no later
than 19 June 2020 of our decision.
It should be noted that many key staff involved with the sourcing and preparation of material for your
requests are also directly involved with work associated with COVID-19. This may impact on our ability to
respond to certain OIA requests within normal time frames.
Your request is being handled by Kathleen Smitheram. If you have any queries, please feel free to contact
either myself (details above) or Kathleen.
([email address]; Phone 364- 4134). Please
refer to the OIA numbers above when phoning or emailing.
If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact
us so that these can be taken into account.
Yours sincerely
Wayne Turp
Project Specialist
15 Decisions on requests
(1) Subject to this Act, the department or Minister of the Crown or organisation to whom a request is made in accordance wit
h section 12
or is transferred in accordance wit
h section 14 of this Act o
r section 12 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act
1987 shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which the request is received
by that department or Minister of the Crown or organisation,—
(1)(a) decide whether the request is to be granted and, if it is to be granted, in what manner and for what charge (if any); and
(1)(b) give or post to the person who made the request notice of the decision on the request
[If we are unable to make a decision on your request by the date noted above, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.]