A decision on whether to outsource the Otago Fertility Service (OFS) has been delayed to investigate concerns about the controversial proposal.
The Southern District Health Board proposal sparked a highly charged staff submission last month which said key parts of it were factually wrong. The submission roundly rejected claims the service was vulnerable and had staffing difficulties, and said whoever wrote the proposal did not appear to know what was provided.
Initially, staff were to be told the decision at the end of last month.
In a statement this week, strategy, integration, and funding director Dr Sharon Kletchko said the decision had been put off to investigate issues raised by staff.
''OFS staff raised a number of issues in their submission and in order to investigate these more fully, the timeline for making a decision on how the service is best provided in the future has been extended,'' Dr Kletchko said.
In an interview yesterday, health board chief executive Carole Heatly said she believed factual detail in the proposal was accurate.
''We wouldn't have put [it] out otherwise.
''There's a difference of opinion,'' she said.
The board was happy to hear staff concerns and consider suggested changes, Ms Heatly said.
''We think it's a service that needs to be looked at to make sure we're getting the best service that we can for our local population.''
An updated timeframe was not yet available.
The proposal drew 10 submissions.
Under the old timeframe, a request for proposal process would have been conducted this month if the board decided to outsource.
