Otago rest-homes have lost about $3.5 million of revenue in one year, and the chance of people getting sub-standard care as businesses struggle to hold on is an issue with which the Otago District Health Board is still grappling.
"There are grannies at risk," board member Richard Thomson, who raised the concern at last week's board meeting, said.
The board wants to reduce the number of people in rest-homes in a bid to save money, as it says it is overdelivering community care for the elderly compared with national averages.
It is also trying to reduce the amount of household help and personal care elderly people receive.
Figures supplied to the board show the number of people in rest-homes had dropped 11% in a year, from 861 in July, last year, to 764 this July.
Rest-homes are paid about $100 a day for occupied beds and the board had taken about $70,000 a week out of rest-home revenue, Mr Thomson said.
Chief executive Brian Rousseau said he shared Mr Thomson's concern, but did not know how they would address the issue.
Regional planning and funding manager David Chrisp said a "close eye" was being kept on rest-homes with low occupancy rates, and they would be subject to more visits from contract managers.
"The sector has been quite good at adapting to changes itself. It is a market-led sector, largely in private hands, and there have been a number of closures of small rest-homes over the years."
"Board member Louise Rosson questioned the board targeting national averages of community care for the elderly, when Otago, and Dunedin in particular, had a higher proportion of older people than the rest of the country.
"Mr Rousseau said that was already factored in as "the national average is by default the over-65 community".
Otago was only "very slightly" over the average, which is 6.5% of the population being over-65.
The figure is 6.6% in Otago.
Mr Thomson said the difference was not insignificant as that amounted to 20% more older people in Otago, and the board had to be careful about targeting national averages.
Mr Rousseau said the "funding formula" was what was driving the targets.
