The Southland District Health Board says it will not cut services to pay for additional medical staff at the Lakes District Hospital in Frankton.
Board chairman Paul Menzies had earlier stated it would cost at least $300,000 to employ another two doctors and a nurse to cover a seven-day roster, money he said the board did not have.
But he did not expect cuts as a result of this new expense.
"This is not about cutting back on services, but about making changes to the way we deliver our services. This expense will be an investment to see us through an interim situation.
"Our management is required to increase efficiency as a means to finding ways to save money without scaling back our services," Mr Menzies said.
Southland District Health Board chief operating officer Lexie O'Shea said the additional staff would be new appointments, rather than adding hours to rosters for existing staff.
She anticipated it could be hard to find doctors.
"There can be difficulties recruiting medical staff with the appropriate skill set to rural hospitals such as Lakes. We don't normally have an issue recruiting nurses to this area, and will advertise," she said.
