Bay of Plenty DHB Covid pamphlet: Information on pamphlet decision withheld

Information on the Bay of Plenty District Health Board information booklet has been denied. Image / Supplied

Details of how a controversial health board pamphlet came to exist will remain a secret until it has been fully investigated.

A pamphlet about Covid-19 distributed by the Bay of Plenty District Health Board was pulled from circulation at the end of July after it received backlash for implying Māori were the virus and labelled as "despicable".

Let's Give Covid-19 The Boot was distributed by the Bay of Plenty District Health Board and provided information about the Pfizer vaccination.

The pamphlet featured cartoons of a virus with a mataora or full-face moko. Another image depicted a person stabbing a virus with a tewhatewha or spear.

The health board immediately apologised for the pamphlet, with the chief executive saying the imagery should never have been used and launching an investigation into how the pamphlet came to be.

All pamphlets would be destroyed and the design would never be used again, the DHB said in a statement at the time.

The Bay of Plenty Times requested information through the Official Information Act about what checks took place and who the most senior staff member to sign off the design was before it was released.

The pamphlet was immediately pulled from distribution and an apology was issued. Image / Supplied

However, the health board has declined the official information request due to an ongoing investigation.

"The questions you have raised are subject of the investigation, therefore we are not currently able to respond," it said in its decision.

Bay of Plenty DHB governance and quality senior adviser Debbie Brown expected the investigation would be finished by mid-September.

"We will be releasing the findings of the investigation. Therefore pursuant to clause 18(d) of the Official Information Act the Bay of Plenty DHB is declining release of this information on the grounds that the information will soon be publicly available."

Images of the Covid-19 virus depicted with a mataora were throughout the pamphlet. Image / Supplied

Other questions the Bay of Plenty Times asked were if a Māori health provider or rūnanga were included in the design process and how much the design company invoiced the health board for its work.