What records does Health New Zealand hold?

Health NZ holds medical treatment records in public healthcare facilities

Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) holds information about medical treatment you received in a public hospital or healthcare facility, including: 

• in the hospital itself (including psychiatric treatment) or  
• at an outpatient clinic (outpatient clinics are parts of hospitals for patients who do not need a bed or to stay overnight).

Hospitals must keep clinical and mental health records for a certain amount of time

'Clinical' means involving the medical treatment or medical testing of patients. Clinical records are records about a medical treatment, medical trial, or clinical test. Hospitals are allowed to dispose of these records: 

• For an adult (aged 16 years or over), clinical records (also known as medical records) can be disposed of:  
  
  • 10 years after no changes to their records or 
  • 10 years after their death 
• For a child (under 16 years), clinical records can be disposed of: 
  
  • 25 years after no changes to their records or 
  • 10 years after their death 
• Mental health records can be destroyed after 25 years of no changes to the records, or 10 years after the death of the patient. 

If the information you want is old enough that it could have been disposed of, contact the Health NZ regional location where you received treatment. They can confirm whether the records are still available.