Mr McGeorge, who chairs Central Otago Health Services, which runs the community-owned Dunstan Hospital at Clyde, said there were complex issues to be resolved, but the organisation was happy to start exploring how it could work.
Mr McGeorge's comments follow the recent release of the paper prepared by the clinical advisory group set up last year to compare options for health services in the Wakatipu and try to reach agreement on something which was clinically and financially sustainable.
The report, to be considered by the Southern District Health Board next week, gives majority support for a model involving a combined Dunstan and Lakes District hospitals' workforce under Central Otago governance.
What happened next depended on what the Southern District Health Board wanted to do, as well as what Queenstown wanted, he said. There was no foregone conclusion, and any decision would have to be made after exploring all the issues.
The merger of the Otago and Southland district health boards last year allowed for the breaking down of historical boundaries that had " people driving from Queenstown, passing Dunstan to go to Dunedin".
Dunstan Hospital was in the old Otago board area while Lakes District Hospital, Frankton, was under control of the old Southland board.
Mr McGeorge said it was worth noting Dunstan had been a successful community operation for more than 10 years and could bring that experience to any regional discussions.
There was support at the district health board for the Dunstan model, which was well respected, he said.
The Queenstown situation was significantly different, however, as Dunstan had no emergency department or maternity services.
