Level 2, H Block
The Princess Margaret Hospital
Telephone: 0064 3 364 4160
Cashmere Road
Fax: 0064 3 364 4101
CHRISTCHURCH
[email address]
30 April 2015
Mr Tom Sellers
Email:
[FYI request #2573 email];
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT (OIA) REQUEST CDHB/G 9081
We refer to your request dated 11 March 2015 under the Official Information Act (1982) requesting the
following information relating to Canterbury District Health Board:
1. How many staff have accepted gifts from the pharmaceutical industry in any form or nature?
Staff employed by Canterbury DHB (CDHB) are expected to maintain appropriate professional standards
and relationships with other services and providers at all times. The CDHB expects its clinical staff to act
ethically and appropriately in prescribing medications as part of the professional standards required
under their registration and according to the practitioner’s competency requirements. This requires the
identification and declaration of any actual or potential conflict of interest that may occur in their day to
day business activities or contact.
Please see the CDHB policy on staff accepting gifts and hospitality (attached as
appendix one). This
policy applies to all circumstances where individuals have received gifts in any from or nature including
the pharmaceutical industry. This entails staff to declare gifts and hospitality (declaration from
attached as
appendix two). All such staff declarations are held at a Head of Department/Service
Manager level and this information is not currently held in a central repository.
The CDHB is therefore declining to provide an answer on the number of staff who have accepted gifts
under Section 18(f) of the OIA on the basis that: “… the information requested cannot be made
available without substantial collation or research.” In the event that you disagree with our decision
you may, under section 28(3) of the Act, seek an investigation and review of our decision from the
Ombudsman.
2. What is the level of influence of the pharmaceutical industry on the New Zealand medical
profession?
The CDHB is unable to answer this question in that it is not possible to determine the influence on the
medical profession as a whole.
3. What is the relationship between your DHB and the pharmaceutical industry?
There is no direct relationship between the CDHB and the pharmaceutical industry.
Yours sincerely
For Carolyn Gullery
General Manager,
Planning, Funding & Decision Support