Data-share may have saved life, Tolley says

Anne Tolley said some NGOs had "flat out refused to be part of any information-sharing agreement". Photo / File

Better sharing of information between state agencies may have prevented the death of a child in a poorly-maintained state house, says Social Development Minister Anne Tolley.

She was also highly critical of NGOs and individuals in the health, justice and social sector who had been reluctant to share details about at-risk or ill people with Government agencies, saying they made it more difficult to pick up problem cases.

Two-year-old Emma-Lita Bourne died in August from pneumonia-like symptoms which a coroner later found were worsened by her family's damp, cold Housing New Zealand property in Otara.

"I don't know the details of that particular case," Mrs Tolley said. "But I bet you there are a whole lot of people in the background who have been working with that family and one of the great difficulties is that they won't have shared that information."

Since a change in privacy laws two years ago, the Government has been permitted to create information-sharing agreements between and within state agencies, community providers and the private sector, as long as strict safeguards are followed.

But because of legal obstacles and complications in getting co-operation from NGOs and private organisations, very few "Approved Information Sharing Agreements" have been signed off.

Mrs Tolley said if such an agreement had been in place, Emma-Lita's dangerous circumstances might have been picked up.

"If she had a brother or sister that was ill, it might have flagged that there was something happening. And that's the frustration of what we're trying to achieve."

The minister took a shot at some NGOs, saying they had "flat out refused to be part of any information-sharing agreement".

"It's fraught with difficulty," she said. "Many professionals are trying to protect themselves. It's very frustrating because at the heart of it, we're trying to keep children safe.

Asked for an example, she said: "A child is being neglected, and the mother has mental health problems. A health professional is dealing with the mother. But without an approved agreement, that health professional is reluctant to hand over information about the mother but that is protected under privacy laws."

One of the only existing agreements, in Hamilton, requires police, health, education, social development, and Child, Youth and Family officials to securely share any information which may be relevant to other agencies.

Mrs Tolley said Housing New Zealand could also be a part of future agreements and the Ministry of Social Development, which assessed housing tenants' needs, was also likely to be included in any cross-agency collaborations.