The Otago District Health Board group manager of mental health and community services, Elaine Chisnall, said the reductions, which were made as the board struggled with a severe shortage of mental health nurses and unusually high demand for acute services, will be evaluated at the end of the first week in June.
The community day programme was expected to undergo temporary closure in April as part of the reduction.
Mrs Chisnall said there had been changes to the way the programme was operating, but it was still providing a service.
Closing the day programme temporarily would be a last resort, she said.
"If we can manage to keep it open, then that's what we would prefer to do."
A woman who had used the programme since the late 1980s has made a plea for the board not to consider closing the service, even temporarily.
She said in her case the support from the service had been invaluable, allowing her to move from residential care into her own flat for about the past eight years.
It had also helped her avoid hospital stays by supporting her through difficult times.
The board closed eight beds in Wakari Hospital's rehabilitation ward 11, allowing it to move staff to its acute wards, 1A in Dunedin and 9B in Wakari.
Mrs Chisnall said this had allowed the board to reduce the level of overtime andthe use of casual staff, thereby reducing risks for staff and patients.
There had also been an increase in the community service, with a psychiatric district nurse and community support worker rostered in the evenings seven days a week, helping to provide support to clients outside the hospital.
The high level of acute demand had levelled off in the past month, allowing the board to generally manage numbers within its own hospital beds, rather than use beds from elsewhere.
Previously, demand was such that wards were overflowing and referring some acute patients to Ashburn Clinic was a regular occurrence.
Mrs Chisnall acknowledged the "excellent contribution" of staff and their input into managing the situation which had helped the board implement strategies in a phased way.
The board had about 10 registered nurses expected to start work within the next few months which would assist, and efforts to recruit more staff were continuing.
