Although rural hospitals cautioned against a centrally-managed service for assessing the elderly's needs for community services, because it would have a detrimental effect on patients, they found out this week that is what is being proposed.
Rural hospitals received a draft discussion document from the Otago and Southland district health boards, to be discussed at a meeting on Friday between them and board management proposing a centralised service working out of Invercargill and Dunedin to begin on November 2.
The document has been described as reading like a "fait accompli" by both Public Service Association organiser Julie Morton and Oamaru Hospital manager Robert Gonzales.
Both have concerns that the changes, which would mean assessors having to travel from Dunedin or Invercargill to most areas could mean elderly patients will end up spending extra time in hospital as they wait for assessment and organisation of community services to support them after they are discharged.
In a combined letter late last month sent to the district health boards by Mr Gonzales, the rural hospitals in Oamaru, Balclutha, and Dunstan, emphasised needs assessment in rural Otago was working well and there was no evidence to suggest present services were not cost-effective.
Concerns raised by the three rural hospitals, including that centrally managing such services had not worked in the past, had not been " considered or listened to", he said.
In the case of his hospital, the proposed changes would be detrimental to his team.
In the letter to the boards, the hospitals agreed there was a need to reduce access rates in Otago, but disputed removing assessors from the rural ares without justification.
The draft discussion document has not been officially released by the boards, which this week were still discussing the issue behind closed doors at their disability advisory support committee meeting.
Mr Gonzales and Ms Morton were both critical of the boards' secrecy.
At present the Oamaru, Balclutha and Dunstan hospitals all employ their own staff, a total of 6.3 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions when administration support is included.
The proposal allows for two needs assessors to be located in one unspecified site in Central Otago to cover all Queenstown, Dunstan and Wanaka regions.
Regional planning and funding general manager David Chrisp said earlier this month it was inappropriate to discuss the issues before Friday's meeting because it could appear as if the outcomes were predetermined.
