While chief executive Brian Rousseau would not comment on the situation yesterday, the Otago Daily Times understands that meetings of the PHOs in both areas were told that would be the recommendation.
Mr Rousseau confirmed he was sending out a report, embargoed to next week, on the issue to the PHOs yesterday afternoon, asking them to honour the embargo.
But the Otago Daily Times, spoke to some PHO representatives before this action and they advised of the one PHO proposal.
It was one of six options, including retaining the status quo, but it is the one favoured by board management.
It is understood that if the boards approve the proposal at special meetings on Thursday, the existing nine PHOs will be served with termination of contract notices.
They were told it could take about nine months to set up the new organisation, which would cater for about 300,000 patients in the two regions.
Existing PHOs are unlikely to welcome the proposal, clearly preferring greater collaboration to mergers.
Among concerns about changes to the existing structure were that rural needs would not be met or heard, and that bigger did not necessarily mean better.
Existing bodies, only a few years old, felt they were only now gaining traction.
It appears plans for the super PHO might eventually involve the new organisation handling large budgets, possibly including community medicines, plus being responsible for more services transferred from the hospital setting.
There is a feeling among PHOs that the boards might be jumping the gun with this proposal and that they should have waited for clear direction from the Ministry of Health, which is soon expected to release a report on primary health bodies.
The issue of the PHO set-up in the South has been under consideration by the Otago, Southland and South Canterbury boards for months after a proposal from South Link Health for a three-PHO model for the areas, possibly with an overseeing governance group.
Yesterday, South Link Health executive director Prof Murray Tilyard said he could not comment on the status of its application, but speaking on behalf of general practice, he thought the section of the proposal which outlined the requirements and capabilities of PHOs was excellent.
"I don't think any health professional would take exception to these".
They covered such areas as service planning and delivery, value for money, human resources, information technology and roster management, which would include after-hours cover.
When the boards meet on Thursday it will be their first joint public meeting, , although they have some committees with common membership and have conducted workshops behind closed doors.
The boards have been closely collaborating in recent years, share a regional management team and some services and are making plans for more.
Often the boards make decisions on the same reports, but at different times.
At the Otago monthly board meeting on Thursday, Otago chairman Errol Millar explained that legally, the boards would each be required to make separate decisions following the discussion at next week's meeting.
Provision would also be made, if necessary, for each board to have extra discussion time pertinent to their area.
Any such discussions would be in public..
The main meeting will be chaired by Southland chairman Paul Menzies, as Mr Millar said "it's on his patch", and relayed by video-conference to the Otago board room at Dunedin Hospital.
