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Policy on requests from third party providers of pathology specimens for second opinion

Amy S Van Wey Lovatt (Account suspended) made this Official Information request to Capital and Coast District Health Board

The request was successful.

From: Amy S Van Wey Lovatt (Account suspended)

Dear DHB,

I am a New Zealand citizen, which is demonstrated by the fact that the MoH has already confirmed my citizenship prior to responding to my OIA requests (or a google search of my name).

The Royal College of Pathologists Australasia has a policy titled "Provision of second opinions with particular reference to morphological examination", which addresses the best practice with regards to referral for second and subsequent opinion of pathology specimens.

Request 1:
I respectfully request your DHB's policy on second opinions requested by a third party who is a medical practitioner currently involved in the medical care of the patient from whom the pathological material was originally obtained.

Request 2:
In the event that your DHB deviates from the aforementioned RCPA policy, I request an explanation for why your DHB deviates from best practice.

Please note, my request does not reflect the standard of care provided at your DHB, but is to ascertain whether there is consistent adherence to RCPA best practice amongst all NZ DHBs.

Yours faithfully,

Amy S Van Wey Lovatt

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From: Catherine Stewart [CCDHB]
Capital and Coast District Health Board

Dear Amy

 

Thank you for your request for official information, originally received
by the Ministry of Health on 24 February 2020, and partially transferred
to Capital & Coast District Health Board on 22 March 2020.

 

Your request has been received and logged. As required under the Official
Information Act 1982, we will respond to your request within 20 working
days. You should receive a response on or before 21 April 2020.

 

It should be noted that many key staff involved with the sourcing and
preparation of material for your OIA request are also directly involved
with work associated with COVID-19. This may impact our ability to respond
to certain OIA requests within normal timeframes.

 

If a large amount of information has been requested or if the district
health board needs to consult in order to make a decision, we may need to
extend this date (this is provided for in section 15A of the Act). We will
advise you if such an extension is necessary.

 

Our reference number for your request is: 2020/061.

 

Thank you and kind regards

 

Catherine Stewart

Correspondence Officer to the Office of the Chief Executive | Capital &
Coast District Health Board | Ūpoko ki te uru hauora | [1]www.ccdhb.org.nz
| [2]www.facebook.com/CCDHB

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ccdhb.org.nz/
2. http://www.facebook.com/CCDHB

Link to this

From: Catherine Stewart [CCDHB]
Capital and Coast District Health Board

Hello Amy

 

Correction on the below: the Ministry of Health was not involved in your
request. Your request was received directly from you by Capital & Coast
District Health Board on 22 March 2020.

 

Apologies for any brief confusion caused in the reading of the below
email.

 

All the other facts/dates of the email I sent below still apply, so you
can expect a response by 21 April 2020.

 

Thank you

 

Catherine Stewart

Correspondence Officer to the Office of the Chief Executive | Capital &
Coast District Health Board | Ūpoko ki te uru hauora | [1]www.ccdhb.org.nz
| [2]www.facebook.com/CCDHB

 

From: Catherine Stewart [CCDHB]
Sent: Monday, 23 March 2020 11:38 AM
To: '[FOI #12504 email]'
<[FOI #12504 email]>
Subject: OIA 2020/061 - due 21 April 2020

 

Dear Amy

 

Thank you for your request for official information, originally received
by the Ministry of Health on 24 February 2020, and partially transferred
to Capital & Coast District Health Board on 22 March 2020.

 

Your request has been received and logged. As required under the Official
Information Act 1982, we will respond to your request within 20 working
days. You should receive a response on or before 21 April 2020.

 

It should be noted that many key staff involved with the sourcing and
preparation of material for your OIA request are also directly involved
with work associated with COVID-19. This may impact our ability to respond
to certain OIA requests within normal timeframes.

 

If a large amount of information has been requested or if the district
health board needs to consult in order to make a decision, we may need to
extend this date (this is provided for in section 15A of the Act). We will
advise you if such an extension is necessary.

 

Our reference number for your request is: 2020/061.

 

Thank you and kind regards

 

Catherine Stewart

Correspondence Officer to the Office of the Chief Executive | Capital &
Coast District Health Board | Ūpoko ki te uru hauora | [3]www.ccdhb.org.nz
| [4]www.facebook.com/CCDHB

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ccdhb.org.nz/
2. http://www.facebook.com/CCDHB
3. http://www.ccdhb.org.nz/
4. http://www.facebook.com/CCDHB

Link to this

From: Catherine Stewart [CCDHB]
Capital and Coast District Health Board

Dear Amy

 

I refer to your request for official information, originally received by
Capital & Coast District Health Board on 22 March 2020 regarding best
practice with regard to pathology specimens.. A response to your request
is due today, 21 April 2020.

 

We are writing to confirm that we are granting a response to your request.
Our response to your request will be sent to you as soon as is reasonably
practicable. However, please note that right now, dealing with COVID-19
for our health system must take priority.

 

This is necessary because many key staff involved with the sourcing and
preparation of material for your request are also directly involved with
work associated with COVID-19. This has impacted our ability to respond to
this OIA requests within normal timeframes.

 

We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and hope you will understand
the delay given the circumstances.

 

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or free phone 0800 802 602.

 

If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with us, including this
decision, please feel free to reply to this email, or contact me at
[2][email address].

 

Thank you

 

Catherine Stewart

Correspondence Officer to the Office of the Chief Executive | Capital &
Coast District Health Board | Ūpoko ki te uru hauora | [3]www.ccdhb.org.nz
| [4]www.facebook.com/CCDHB

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.ccdhb.org.nz/
4. http://www.facebook.com/CCDHB

Link to this

From: Amy S Van Wey Lovatt (Account suspended)

Dear Catherine Stewart [CCDHB],

This is just a gentle reminder that I am still waiting for a response to my OIA request from March 2020. I trust that the information will be sent through soon, as this ought to take only a few minutes to respond to if CCDHB has adopted the RCPA policy (the professional standards).

I would be very pleased with a one liner that says, "CCDHB has adopted the RCPA policy." That is assuming the statement is accurate.

Yours sincerely,

Amy S Van Wey Lovatt

Link to this

From: Catherine Stewart [CCDHB]
Capital and Coast District Health Board

Attachment H20 21 45 Response.pdf
495K Download View as HTML

Attachment H20 21 45 Response Appendix 1 Provision of second opinions with particular reference to morphological examination.pdf
165K Download View as HTML

Attachment 2020 061 Response Trail 2020.05.04.pdf
566K Download View as HTML

Attachment FW OIA request H20 21 45 and H20 21 46.html
5K Download

Attachment H20 21 46 Response.pdf
564K Download View as HTML

Good afternoon Amy

Thank you for your email below.

A response to your request OIA 2020/061 was sent to you as a joint Hutt Valley and Capital & Coast District Health Board (DHB) response from Hutt Valley District Health Board on 4 May 2020.

The Hutt Valley DHB reference number was H20_21-45, and the Capital & Coast reference number was 2020/061.

The two DHBs often work closely together behind the scenes in a number of areas. Because much of our information is shared, we often provide a joint response to requesters. We sincerely apologise for any confusion caused.

I have attached the joint response that was sent to you on 4 May 2020, as well as the Appendix, the response trail, and the actual email that was sent to you.

Thank you

Catherine Stewart
Correspondence Officer to the Office of the Chief Executive | Capital & Coast District Health Board | Ūpoko ki te uru hauora | www.ccdhb.org.nz | www.facebook.com/CCDHB

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From: Amy S Van Wey Lovatt (Account suspended)

Dear Catherine Stewart [CCDHB],

Thank you so very much for your very quick response. I also would like to thank you for the clarification regarding the one response for multiple DHB's. As you can imagine, I've had some difficulty in keeping track, when there are 20 DHB's. It is much simpler, if each DHB uploads a response, even if it is a copy of the same letter.

Thank you again. I am so pleased to see that your DHB's are adhering to the professional standards and to the principles of transparency which are the foundation of the OIA. I only wish all DHB's behaved in the same manner.

Please keep up the good work!

Yours sincerely,

Amy S Van Wey Lovatt

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From: Catherine Stewart [CCDHB]
Capital and Coast District Health Board

Hello Amy

That is not a problem, and I am glad you are happy with the response, explanation and interaction.

Your most recent query is much the same story; I will reply to your other query before close of business today.

Thank you for your patience

Catherine Stewart
Correspondence Officer to the Office of the Chief Executive | Capital & Coast District Health Board | Ūpoko ki te uru hauora | www.ccdhb.org.nz | www.facebook.com/CCDHB

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Things to do with this request

Anyone:
Capital and Coast District Health Board only: