The Otago and Southland District Health Boards are proposing changes to the mental health needs assessment service, potentially affecting 11 full-time equivalent jobs.
Mental health needs assessment is carried out by a mix of community and district health board providers, but the boards propose tendering the service to one provider.
A decision is expected later this month, after the boards consider feedback from the sector.
Eleven equivalent full-time positions in Otago and Southland in the DHB and community sector could be affected by the change.
Mental health and community services group manager Elaine Chisnall said the change would provide a single consistent service across the two regions and it was too early to say whether jobs would go.
The move would eliminate confusion about mental health needs assessment in Otago and Southland, where there were five and two "points of contact" respectively.
"There will be one service that has knowledge of and an understanding of all services and resources available to support people with a mental health need in the community," Mrs Chisnall said.
A decision had been expected this week, but was delayed to allow more time to examine the feedback, she said.
If adopted, the tender process would start on April 23, with implementation in June.
The move was not designed to cut costs; it was in line with the Ministry of Health's push to make health services available in the community.
It was also a response to last year's Deloitte report, which said the DHBs had overpriced their mental health services.
The report highlighted the troubled relationship between boards and community health providers.
The move coincides with a proposal to tender the mental health outpatient group provided at Dunedin Hospital.
A decision on that is expected later this month.
Otago Mental Health NGO Group chairman Donald Shand released to the Otago Daily Times feedback the group had sent the boards.
It warned the boards risked the "potential loss" of Miramare, a high-quality Otago needs assessment service which would have to tender like any other service.
Miramare has 592 service users and 4.5 of the 11 full-time equivalent staff.
"You will be well aware of the competence and community connectedness of the Miramare team and such capability is hard earned and difficult to replicate."
The group suggested the boards name Miramare the preferred provider.
The sector was wary of tender processes due to past experience, which did not always deliver the best result, especially when it was not clear what the boards wanted.
The group was concerned the proposal was too "cautious" and did not go far enough to increase resources in the community for mental health services.
"Our considered view is that the biggest single risk to improved provision is DHB management reluctance to create a future in which the majority of mental health services are provided outside of hospital and clinical settings."
Miramare manager Kerry Hand said already, one staff member had resigned because of job uncertainty.
He cautiously welcomed the tender process, which made it possible for community organisations to play a greater role in the health sector, in which they were undervalued.
Mike McAlevey, of the Otago Mental Health Support Trust, who submitted feedback on behalf of mental-health-service consumers and their families, said feelings were mixed about the value of a single service.
Concerns were raised about the shortness of the implementation time-frame, the lack of choice in having one provider, the effects on staff morale of job uncertainty, and fear the move was cost-cutting.
Potential benefits were less red tape, having one properly resourced service, and more consistency.
