TVNZ to pay costs following complaints about Holmes show

Complaints about a news item on the Holmes show earlier this year have been upheld by the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA).

TVNZ has in turn been ordered to pay costs of $4200.

The item, broadcast on Holmes and fronted by Susan Wood on April 14 this year, described an incident involving former clinical director of general surgery at Southland Hospital, George Ngaei.

Mr Ngaei had allegedly been given a warning by his employer after attacking a registrar months earlier.

The programme detailed allegations about the incident and then interviewed Christchurch health economist Dr Pim Borren, who spoke about whether patient safety issues were raised and whether the medical profession's reaction to the incident was sufficient.

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) complained to the BSA, outlining inaccuracies and misleading information in the news item.

The ASMS said it was "appalled by the display of incompetent and irresponsible journalism disclosed in the item" and that it breached basic standards including fairness, balance and accuracy.

It also said Dr Borren (a non-medical doctor) was not qualified to comment on the issue and his opinion was in part "false".

Mr Ngaei was in the Cook Islands at the time of the broadcast and the reporter's efforts to contact him appeared to be limited to a single message left on his cellphone, despite him being listed in the islands, the ASMS said.

Neither was any attempt made to contact the ASMS or Mr Ngaei's union.

Mr Ngaei's own complaint to the BSA agreed with issues raised by the ASMS, and reiterated that no attempt was made to contact him before the item was broadcast.

The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) also complained about the item, saying it focused on doctors' competency as opposed to treating it as an employment issue.

"The interview was manifestly unbalanced and unfair, and essentially consisted of the expression of ill-informed and biased personal views," the association said.

TVNZ's complaints committee responded to the complaints by saying it had contacted the ASMS regarding the issue.

It said the ASMS rang TVNZ after the interview and said it was "horrified" about Dr Borren's on-air comments and would have been represented on the show had it known what he would say.

TVNZ also responded in detail to Mr Ngaei's and the NZMA's complaints.

Points upheld by the BSA included the item being unbalanced and that reasonable efforts to obtain Mr Ngaei's views were not made.

It also found the item contained inaccuracies and was not fair to Mr Ngaei.

The BSA said reasonable efforts were not made to represent significant views on the controversial items discussed.

The item had also made misleading statements about Mr Ngaei and the medical industry.

A complaint that the item discriminated against doctors was not upheld.

One of several requests from the ASMS included that TVNZ pay both Mr Ngaei and a charity of his choice $5000 each, but the BSA said it did not have the authority to enforce it.

It instead ordered TVNZ to pay Mr Ngaei costs of $1700, and the Crown costs of $2500 within a month of its decision.

- NZPA