He said while he supported the board supplying services to suit its ability to pay, he had been concerned for some time at the way the rest-home targets were set.
"I am simply not comfortable with the target figures.
"They have too many things I'm pickin' holes in."
He mentioned factors such as the number of beds which might be occupied by mental health patients and the fact that Otago had a higher ratio of people aged 75 and above than the national average.
If Auckland was highly skewed in a different direction from Otago, that could have a huge effect on national averages.
Just looking at the total number of beds provided for over-65-year-olds in New Zealand and dividing it by the relevant population and then doing the same in Otago would be fine "as long as over-65 is the correct denominator".
"I don't believe it is."
The board needed to approve a programme against a set of targets in which members could be confident.
He emphasised that he was not critical of the overall direction of the policy to reduce spending on community services to the elderly, but assumptions had to be justified.
Chief executive Brian Rousseau said it was a matter of matching the national profile of service provision with the population-based funding profile - "the target must match that".
He suggested he and Mr Thomson and regional general manager of planning and funding David Chrisp should "run through" this.
It was agreed that a report should be prepared clarifying the situation.
Chairman Errol Millar said he believed that the report should be made public once completed, rather than waiting for the next board meeting, because of the interest in the matter.
Based on national averages, rest-home beds in Otago should eventually number about 600, the board has been told.
At the end of January 728 beds were occupied.
Bed numbers have dropped by about 130 over the past four years.
Information requested by the board showed that over-65-year-olds made up 14.4% of the total Otago population, compared with a 12.3% national figure.
Those aged 75 or over made up 6.9% of the Otago population, compared with 5.7% nationally.
Those aged 85 and over in Otago made up 1.7% of the province's population, compared with 1.4% nationally.
Mr Chrisp also told the meeting that an estimated 10% of home-based support services in Otago and Southland were being used by people with a mental health diagnosis.
The board has been trying to reduce its spending on community care for the elderly to match the funding available.
It says it has been over-delivering in this area, according to national averages, by several million dollars a year.
