Broadcasting Standards Authority members have ruled that the television news programme Te Karere ran an inaccurate and misleading story about a hospital in eastern Bay of Plenty.
They have found that Television New Zealand created the impression that Whakatane Hospital's microbiology department was closing down and that all microbiology testing services were being moved to Tauranga.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board staff made a formal complaint to TVNZ, saying the microbiology laboratory was not closing.
Te Karere relied on an article in the Whakatane Beacon to support the TV story, which was broadcast last 4 October, the Broadcasting Standards Authority says.
Authority members say the programme did not make reasonable efforts to ensure the story was accurate.
