Tēnā koe, 

 

Thank you for contacting Health NZ, Te Whatu Ora. This is an automatic
reply to confirm that we have received your email.  Depending on the
nature of your request you may not receive a response for up to 20 working
days.  We will try to respond to your query as quickly as possible.

 

 

Ngā mihi

 

Health NZ, Te Whatu Ora

Spark Central, 44-48 Willis Street, Wellington| PO Box 5013, Wellington
6140
Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora 
[1]www.TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
 
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Kia ora Jake

Thank you for your request of 4 February 2025 (as set out at the bottom of
this email). With regard to question five, we consider this part of your
request is more closely aligned with the functions of Manatū Hauora |
Ministry of Health. For this reason, Health New Zealand has decided to
transfer your request in full to Ministry of Health under section
14(b)(ii) of the Act.  You can expect a response from in due course.

Under section 28(3) of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman
to review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [1][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602. If you have any queries related to this request, please do not
hesitate to get in touch.  
 

----

Full Information Request

I am making a request under the Official Information Act 1982 regarding
governance, accountability, and transparency in Health New Zealand’s
decision-making. Given that the central government has stated it is not
responsible for the day-to-day operations of Health New Zealand, I seek
clarification on how the organisation ensures effective oversight, public
accountability, and evidence-based decision-making.

1. Governance and Decision-Making
1.1 Health New Zealand’s Responsibilities
Please provide a detailed breakdown of Health New Zealand’s key statutory
and operational responsibilities in relation to:
- Public hospital administration and service planning
- Workforce planning, allocation, and management
- Digital health systems, IT infrastructure, and data management
- Clinical service standards, patient safety, and risk management
- Primary care oversight, funding decisions, and contract management
- Public accountability, transparency, and complaint resolution processes
- Any other responsibilities under Health NZ is given under the law

1.2 Decision-Making & Oversight
- Please provide an organisational chart showing key executive positions,
their reporting lines, and where ultimate responsibility for hospital
operations lies.
- How does Health New Zealand ensure that intelligence provided to its
leadership accurately reflects conditions on the ground?
- What mechanisms exist to prevent decision-making from being based on
incomplete, misleading, or filtered information?
- Are there independent auditing or verification processes in place to
assess whether decisions align with frontline healthcare realities?

2. Executive Responsibility & Public Contact Information
For each area of responsibility listed in Section 1.1, please provide:
- The name and official title of the executive responsible.
- A description of their role and specific duties in that area.
- Their reporting structure, including who they are accountable to.
- Publicly available contact details (email and/or phone) for public
queries or concerns.

Additionally, what formal escalation pathways exist for the public or
frontline healthcare workers to raise concerns if they believe key issues
are being misrepresented to Health New Zealand leadership?

3. Public Complaints Handling & Transparency Measures
- What public-facing mechanisms exist for patients, staff, and the general
public to raise concerns about governance or service delivery?
- What formal procedures are in place to ensure complaints and concerns
are addressed in a transparent and timely manner?
- What quality assurance measures exist to track whether complaints lead
to meaningful policy or operational changes?
- Please provide any published reports or summaries regarding public
complaints received in the past 12 months and any resulting policy or
service changes.

4. Information Integrity & Verification
The central government has stated that it is not responsible for the
day-to-day operations of Health New Zealand.
- How does Health New Zealand ensure that the information used in
decision-making accurately represents conditions on the ground?
- What systems exist to verify the authenticity and completeness of
information provided to executives and board members?
- Are there any internal audits, reviews, or third-party assessments
conducted to ensure information provided to leadership is accurate and
reflective of real-world healthcare challenges?

5. Ministerial Oversight and Government Accountability
- Under what circumstances can the Minister of Health or other government
officials intervene in Health New Zealand’s operations?
- Have there been any ministerial directives, reviews, or interventions in
the past 12 months regarding hospital service delivery or governance? If
so, please provide details.
- What legal or procedural safeguards are in place to ensure Health New
Zealand remains transparent and publicly accountable while operating
independently of direct government control?

// Scope of Request
I am requesting this information at a national level.
However, if retrieving national-level information exceeds the scope of
this request under Section 18(f) of the Official Information Act (on the
grounds that the information cannot be made available without substantial
collation or research), please limit the request to the following
hospitals:
- Auckland City Hospital
- North Shore Hospital
- Middlemore Hospital
- Whangārei Hospital
If this scope is still considered too broad under Section 18(f), please
further limit the request to:
- Auckland City Hospital
- North Shore Hospital
- Middlemore Hospital
If necessary, further limit the request to the following two hospitals:
- Auckland City Hospital
- North Shore Hospital
Finally, if this remains too broad, please limit the request to only
Auckland City Hospital.
If any part of this request is refused, I request suggestions on how the
request may be refined to fall within an acceptable scope.

Ngā mihi  

Stacey Wilson (she/her) 
Advisor | Kaitohutohu
Government Services

 
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
Statement of confidentiality: This email message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use,
disseminate, distribute or copy this message or attachments. If you have
received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and
delete this message

References

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Kia ora Jake, 

 

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act), received by the Ministry of Health on 18 February 2025. You
requested:

 

"Ministerial Oversight and Government Accountability
- Under what circumstances can the Minister of Health or other government
officials intervene in Health New Zealand’s operations?
- Have there been any ministerial directives, reviews, or interventions in
the past 12 months regarding hospital service delivery or governance? If
so, please provide details.
- What legal or procedural safeguards are in place to ensure Health New
Zealand remains transparent and publicly accountable while operating
independently of direct government control?"

 

 

The reference number for your request is H2025061650. As required under
the Act, the Ministry will endeavour to respond to your request no later
than 20 working days after the day your request was received:
http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/.   

 

If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to
get in touch ([1][email address]).

 

 

Ngā mihi 
 
OIA Services Team 

show quoted sections

References

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1. mailto:[email address]

Kia ora Jake,

 

Please find attached a response to your official information act request. 

 

 

Ngā mihi 

  

OIA Services Team

Ministry of Health  | Manatū Hauora 

M[1]inistry of Health information releases 

 

show quoted sections

References

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Kia ora Jake 
 
Thank you for your request for information regarding governance and
accountability on 4 February 2025. Please find attached our response to
your request.  I apologise for the time it has taken to provide you with
this response.
 
If you have any questions, please get in touch at
[1][email address]
 
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a
complaint to the Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available
at [2]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800 802 602.
 
Ngā mihi, 
 
 
 
Stacey Wilson (she/her) 
Advisor | Kaitohutohu
Government Services

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
Statement of confidentiality: This email message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use,
disseminate, distribute or copy this message or attachments. If you have
received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and
delete this message

References

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1. mailto:[Health New Zealand request email]
2. file:///tmp/