The report was one of several progress updates from the South Island Alliance, a collaboration of DHBs aiming to co-ordinate six services across the South Island.
Board member Dr Branko Sijnja said he "could not get to the guts" of the "management speak" in the reports. He found it difficult to understand what the reports actually meant, pointing to a sentence on child health services: "Working in partnership and linking with national and local teams/groups to make (and assist South Island DHBs to make) strategic health care decisions using a 'whole-of-system' approach".
Board chairman Joe Butterfield sympathised with Dr Sijnja about "a lot of bureaucratic English", and questioned whether the board even needed to see the progress reports.
"Again, this is the management versus governance question that I'm trying to sort out."
Managers needed to decide what the board should see, how often, and to what level of detail.
Mr Butterfield suggested the material was better reported to committees rather than the board.
Board member Kaye Crowther agreed with the need for plain-speaking reports rather than "jargon". It was vital board members kept up with developments in South Island health planning, she said.
Responding, chief executive Brian Rousseau said the reports were written by clinicians rather than managers.
The board needed to be clear what information was required so managers did not waste time preparing unnecessary material.
Mr Rousseau suggested some updates were more informative than others, specifically that of the Southern Cancer Network, which was more established and had more to report.
