Two clinicians and a consumer representative make up the expert panel considering the future of neurosurgery in the South.
The panel will be chaired by Auckland paediatric surgeon and head of the clinical school at Auckland University, Anne Kolbe.
She will be joined by Adelaide neurosurgeon Glenn McCulloch and consumer rights advocate David Russell.
They are expected to meet next week to finalise their terms of reference.
Ms Kolbe formerly has been the deputy chief medical officer at Waitemata District Health Board and active within the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) serving a term as president.
Mr McCulloch is the former president of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia, a councillor of the RACS and a member of the college's board in neurosurgery.
Mr Russell is the former head of Consumer New Zealand and serves on several boards and groups as a representative of consumer rights.
The panel was convened by outgoing Director-general of Health Stephen McKernan, who was asked to intervene in the dispute over the configuration of neurosurgery services when Canterbury and Southern district health boards could not agree where services should be.
The boards have agreed there should be six neurosurgeons working in the South Island, but while Canterbury wants all six located in Christchurch and acute services provided there only, Southern wants two in Dunedin.
The panel will advise Mr McKernan's replacement on the issue.
Mr McKernan's position becomes vacant at the end of this month and no permanent appointment has yet been made with deputy Andrew Bridgman to take on the acting role.
A spokeswoman for Mr McKernan's office said yesterday it was not known at this stage how long the panel's work might take.
Southern board chairman Errol Millar said he was pleased the panel had been announced and that they would be able to "get on with the job" fairly quickly.
Everybody wanted the issue resolved and not dragging on for much longer, he said.
