Guide for the media

All requests for patient conditions, staff and patient interviews, photographs or filming must be made through the national media team via email hnzmedia@tewhatuora.govt.nz .

Under no circumstances may interviews, filming or photography be carried out on the hospital sites without permission from the national media team.

If you carry out filming or photography without permission, our hospital security teams will ask you to leave the site immediately.  For more information see Information for media visiting hospitals below.

The national media team can save you time and trouble trying to track down medical staff and researchers who specialise in the subject you are covering. Often we can put you in contact with a busy practitioner who may not otherwise understand the demands of your deadlines.

We can provide you with images of our hospitals, staff and board members suitable for publication and are happy to take high resolution photographs on request.

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.

Patient status terminology and definitions

• Stable: Condition unchanged
• Serious, but stable: Vital signs stable, within normal limits, patient conscious and comfortable, indicators favourable.
• Serious: Vital signs stable and within normal limits, patient conscious but may be uncomfortable, indicators questionable.
• Critical: Vital signs unstable, not within normal limits, patient may not be conscious, indicators unfavourable.

Confirmation of a patient’s death occurs only with family consent and after notifying next of kin. Sometimes we will refer you to the police media liaison officer rather than comment ourselves.

• The national media team must approve access by the media to any of our hospitals for professional duties.  Please contact the national media team via email in advance, hnzmedia@tewhatuora.govt.nz

• In consideration of the rights to confidentiality of our patients, their families and our staff, the media team will confirm all recording and interviews on hospital property before they occur.

• Patient or parental permission alone is insufficient consent as we need to consider patient safety, privacy for other patients and other factors such as infection control risks and staff concerns.

• Please let us know your needs in advance. If your plan includes photography of a patient, family or a staff member at our Canterbury hospitals, we can obtain photo consent on your behalf in advance. This will avoid delays.

• The national media team will liaise with our clinicians and the patient to arrange a mutually convenient time and location for your interview and will set up where to meet you.

• A member of the local comms team or security will escort you to the patient or staff member you wish to interview.

How we use social media

We use social media to share health updates, health system information, feedback opportunities, new content from our channels, insights into our work and job vacancies, and other relevant content.

We can’t provide health advice on social media. Consult your GP or call Healthline on 0800 611-116 for health concerns. Dial 111 in emergencies.

If we perceive a risk of harm to someone, we may alert the Police or Netsafe. However, our accounts aren’t monitored 24/7 and aren’t for emergencies. If there’s immediate danger, call 111 or seek mental health services.

Comments and questions

We appreciate your feedback but can’t respond to all comments individually. Our accounts are monitored weekdays 9am-5pm and occasionally outside these hours.

We may share third-party content for informational purposes, without endorsing its accuracy. Following or liking a page doesn’t imply endorsement.

Our employees may participate in online forums. Their views are personal, even when they identify as our staff.

Our staff acting in an official capacity on social media will be responding through a Health New Zealand social media account, on behalf of the organisation. If an employee is speaking on their own social media account in an official capacity for Health New Zealand, they will make this clear in the content.

Enforcing community guidelines

Health New Zealand reserves the right to:

• decide what content we think is inappropriate
• hide or remove inappropriate content
• ban users from social media communities.

We may delete content which contains:

• racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other hate speech
• statements that might be defamatory
• confidential information (including personal details or health information)
• misinformation or disinformation
• spam or advertising
• offensive language, abusive language, or threats
• statements that are off-topic or derail the conversation
• nudity, pornography, or child abuse
• excessive violence
• content that is illegal, gives instructions on illegal activity, or encourages people to break the law.

If you find content on any of our accounts which breaks these guidelines, please tell us. 

We may use comments and messages submitted to our social media pages for reporting, after removing names and other personal details.

Email hnzsocialmedia@health.govt.nz if you have concerns or questions about our social media, or any of our content.