One said Queenstown did not need an "integrated family health centre", as Lakes District Hospital operated efficiently, while the other said it was "supportive and quietly optimistic" about the plan, but wanted details.
An interim cost-cutting proposal to save $500,000 by referring non-urgent patients arriving at the hospital's emergency department to GPs was also revealed by health board chief executive Brian Rousseau, on Thursday.
Dr Val Miller, one of two partners at the Wakatipu Medical Centre, said Mr Rousseau, QMC chief executive Dr Richard Macharg, QMC director Dr Hans Raetz and Remarkables Park Ltd director Alastair Porter had been pushing the "supermarket style" of integrated health for years, but other health practitioners probably had not been involved.
"I'm not 100% sure what they are proposing. I'm trying to seek clarification, I haven't been able to read the plans because they are so small, and the other thing I don't know is whether they are proposing to close Lakes District Hospital."
Dr Miller said Mr Rousseau had not produced evidence the hospital was operating inefficiently.
"The only reason he says it runs at a deficit is because he's given it a budget that is below what it takes to run it. He's obviously pushing this new centre because he's been working on it with Hans and Richard for a couple of years.
"It intrigues me that a public servant such as Brian Rousseau can so blatantly be working with a private enterprise, getting his information from them and then coming out with a recommendation that the community should support them in growing their business."
Dr Miller said she wanted to know if public health money would go into a private venture, because the community had said it did not want QMC running the health service in the Wakatipu.
"I don't feel that Brian's really listening to what the Queenstown community wants."
Dr Miller said WMC was happy to take on emergency department work, but it could be financially stressful for patients if their treatment was dealt with in general practice. She questioned how Wakatipu patients would be fairly means-tested.
Queenstown Medical Centre chief operating officer Shane Zeederberg yesterday said the practice, with 13 GPs and about 20 nursing staff over three clinics, saw the health board's plan as providing "inherent and sustainable benefits".
There was more detail to be worked through but emergency department cases could easily be handled by Wakatipu GPs if evenly spread.
Mr Zeederberg said the only involvement QMC had with Remarkables Park Ltd with regard to the private health facility, announced on Thursday, was in a "broader consultative process".
QMC was not a construction or capital partner, but it was interested in such a facility being built and saw the potential to expand its services into Remarkables Park, he said.
Shutting its main existing premises, on Isle St, in favour of the planned Remarkables Park facility was yet to be decided. However, Mr Zeederberg said, in his personal view, he did not think it would close any time soon as there was a clear community need.
Mr Rousseau yesterday said he invited WMC to participate but had been declined. QMC and Mr Porter had participated and he would be delighted if WMC would join in.
The proposed model was the way health care was being delivered internationally, he said.
"We should be providing the best possible service we can within our funding constraints and I've got to look to every single opportunity to do things better and cheaper."
