Media enquiries

Please send media enquiries regarding Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Nelson Marlborough to [email protected] who will be able to assist. This media inbox is monitored from 7am - 8am weekdays and at regular intervals over the weekend when we run an on-call team. 

For patient status updates please see instructions below. 

OIA requests

Please sent all OIA requests to [email protected]. 

Patient condition requests

A patient condition update is a simple description of a patient's current status in hospital. It is limited to one of the following terms:

  • Comfortable - vital signs stable, within normal limits, patient comfortable

  • Stable - vital signs stable and within normal limits, patient may be uncomfortable

  • Improving - usually used after a patient has been in a serious or critical condition but has since stabilised.

  • Serious -  vital signs are not stable; the patient may be in an intensive care or high-dependency unit

  • Serious but stable - this may indicate the patient's condition is not expected to improve

  • Critical - vital signs are unstable and not within normal limits

  • Treated and discharged - the patient was discharged from hospital or the emergency department after being treated

  • Transferred - the patient has been transferred to another hospital (you will have to call that hospital)

  • In triage - the patient is still being assessed in the emergency department

No further information will be provided without the patient's consent, or that of their guardian or spokesperson.

We can only confirm a patient's death with family consent and after notifying next of kin. Sometimes we will refer you to the police media liaison officer for confirmation of a death.

How to make a patient condition request during weekday hours

  • Email the communications team: [email protected]

  • Please provide as much information as possible: name, gender, age, date and time of admission, where they were picked up from (i.e. by ambulance or helicopter.

How to make a patient condition request after-hours, on weekends and on public holidays

  • Contact the duty nurse manager at Nelson or Wairau hospital directly: Phone the operator on (03) 546 1800 and ask to speak to the duty nurse manager

  • Please provide as much information as possible – name, gender, age, time and day of admission, where they were picked up from (i.e. by ambulance or helicopter)

Media visits and requests to interview, photograph or film

Contact the communications team (or a duty manager after-hours) for permission to access any of our hospitals, facilities or other property.

This includes circumstances where you may wish to interview, photograph or film patients or staff. The communications team will arrange consent; patient or parental permission alone is insufficient because there may be clinical or privacy considerations.

We protect the safety and privacy of our patients, visitors and staff 

  • All people interviewed, photographed or filmed must first give consent in accordance with the Health Information Privacy Code. This includes people in the background

  • If asked, the media should confirm how recordings will be used

  • Health and safety procedures must be observed

  • Requests to stop recording, or for media to leave, must be adhered to

  • The recording must not hinder access to any building or facility.