About us Mō mātou

About the Ministry of Health and the New Zealand health system. 

Regulation & legislation Ngā here me ngā ture

Health providers and products we regulate, and laws we administer.

Strategies & initiatives He rautaki, he tūmahi hou

How we’re working to improve health outcomes for all New Zealanders.

Māori health Hauora Māori

Increasing access to health services, achieving equity and improving outcomes for Māori.

Statistics & research He tatauranga, he rangahau

Data and insights from our health surveys, research and monitoring.

Use these forms to report all critical incidents and deaths:

Send your completed form to [email protected].

If your service and the incident site are certified by HealthCert (ie, has 5 or more beds), send it to [email protected] as well.

What counts as a critical incident?

Critical incident categories include:

  • the death of a disabled person (when due to an incident, neglect, or is unexpected or suspicious)
  • serious injury of a disabled person
  • hospitalisation of a disabled person
  • abuse or assault of a disabled person
  • abuse or assault by a disabled person to a non-disabled person
  • neglect of a disabled person
  • restraint or seclusion
  • the involvement of Police or emergency services
  • unauthorised leave of a disabled person who is under a court order
  • missing persons
  • an incident related to external investigation or media.

If in doubt, please report to us – over reporting is better than under reporting.

Death notifications

A Critical Incident Reporting Form (Word, 99 KB) should be completed within 24 hours for any death relating to an incident, or that is unexpected or suspicious, regardless of the type of disability support provided.

If the death was due to natural causes or disease progression, a critical incident form is not required.

Community residential services should also complete an Initial Death Review (IDR) Form (Word, 110 KB) within 15 working days.

These forms can be emailed to [email protected] following completion.

© Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora