ED corridor diagnoses could breach Health and Disability code, commissioner says
Thu, 15th Oct 2026 (Today)
The Health and Disability Commissioner says crowded emergency departments could be breaching patients' rights to talk in private about their symptoms and medical history.
The Nurses Organisation told RNZ delegates in EDs were witnessing conversations in waiting rooms between doctors, pharmacists and patients about diagnoses and treatment.
Commissioner Morag McDowell told RNZ health information came with high expectations of privacy.
"It can often be deeply personal, highly sensitive, and those conversations should be happening with the patient in private."
She said holding conversations in spaces like corridors or waiting rooms could potentially breach rights one and five of the HDC's code - that is, the right to privacy and the right to effective communication.
"If a patient is compromised in their ability to share information, and therefore be part of their shared decision-making, that can also impact and underwrite [their right to privacy] as well."
The nurses' union said it was hearing from delegates that patients were often reluctant to complain, because they saw others who were sicker than they were, and hospital staff run off their feet.
Health NZ group director Katherine Fraser-Chapple said staff were educated on how to uphold patient privacy and confidentiality.
"Where confidential or sensitive conversations are required, staff have access to private areas and will seek a more appropriate setting where clinically and practically possible," she said.
A review of its incident reporting system and patient complaints had not identified any relating to privacy or dignity concerns, she said.
"We recognise that receiving care in the corridor or in a waiting room is not an experience we want for our patients, nor is it the environment our staff want to be providing care in."
Complaint numbers remain high, a fifth of those about ED relate to over-crowding
McDowell told Checkpoint on Friday it was finally getting on top of its huge backlog of complaints, but more than 1300 were still waiting to be assessed.
"We're expecting that by the end of next year, we'll be resolving complaints and investigations within a time period of 18 months to two years," McDowell said.
On average, about nine percent of complaints to HDC involved emergency department services - around 270 complaints a year.
Ten years ago, 12 percent of those complaints related to delays in care, and by 2024-25, it had more than doubled to about 30 percent, before dropping to 21 percent in 2025-26.
The most common concerns were around a lack of patient dignity, pain management and monitoring while they waited to be seen.
