Media Enquiries

General Media Enquiries

Please contact Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora national media team if you have a media enquiry. 

Email hnzmedia@tewhatuora.govt.nz

Often if you can specify in an email what information you are requesting and provide your full contact, this can make the process more straightforward and help with record-keeping.

Official Information Act (OIA) Requests / Release of Patient Information under the Privacy Act

Requests under the Official Information Act 1982 should come firstly to the OIA team, who will acknowledge your request and advise on the response process.

Please visit the full OIA page for the detailed process and to view the latest responses. 

Email: hnzOIA@health.govt.nz

Click here for Release of Patient Information and Privacy Act guidelines.

Patient Condition Updates

While there has been no official policy change in relation to this, we have introduced a privacy waiver policy to ensure that we are putting the patient at the centre of any decision making when disclosing information about them to the media.

Where media representatives request information held by Health NZ about an individual patient’s care or treatment, we adhere to the principles outlined in rule 11 of the Health Information Privacy Code (HIPC) and section 9(2)(a) of the OIA.

Please note, while the HIPC authorises disclosure of patient status updates, this is not a mandatory requirement and Health NZ is not obligated to provide comment on, disclose information or express an opinion about an individual patient’s care to the media.

These decisions are often made on a case-by-case basis and can involve local clinical leadership, our Legal and Privacy teams. This includes deciding whether to rely on a privacy waiver as a basis for sharing this type of personal information.

Visiting Health New Zealand |Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau Hospitals

Health New Zealand |Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau is responsible for hospitals at Whangārei, Dargaville, Kawakawa and Kaitaia as well as smaller sites and clinics throughout our region.

The media and communications team must approve access by the media to any of our hospitals for professional duties.  Please let us know your needs in advance. If your plan includes photography of a patient, family or a staff member at one of our hospitals, we can obtain photo consent on your behalf in advance. This will avoid delays. In group situations, a member of the communications team will be on hand to let you know which patients you can photograph.

• In consideration of the rights to confidentiality of our patients, their families and our staff, the communications team will confirm all recording and interviews on hospital property.
• Patient or parental permission alone is insufficient consent. Clinicians have the right to override that consent taking into consideration patient safety, privacy for other patients and other factors such as infection control risks and staff concerns.
• The communications team will advise on staff commitments, treatment schedules and requirements for infection control and arrange a mutually convenient time and location for your interview.
• In the event of a trauma or an internal emergency, the media plays a vital role by providing the community with the latest news and public service announcements. Our disaster response plan includes operation of an on-site media centre to make sure your needs are met.