49050 (2025). Hon Jenny Salesa to the Minister of Health

49050 (2025). Hon Jenny Salesa to the Minister of Health: In the last twelve months how many dialysis sessions have been cancelled, if any, excluding those sessions cancelled at patient request?

Hon Simeon Brown: I am advised that dialysis treatments, once scheduled, are not cancelled unless a patient advises they will not attend. On occasion, the medical team may cancel a dialysis session on the day due to clinical reasons. In such cases, an alternative treatment session is arranged to ensure continuity of care. I am further advised that providing the Member with the data on the treatments that are cancelled, as requested, would require Health New Zealand to undertake a substantial manual collation exercise and divert staff from their core duties. I consider that the time, and hence the expense, of answering the Member’s question is not in the public interest.