A Southern District Health Board management report on the financial implications of proposed Wakatipu health services changes has been called "pussy-footing" by board member Richard Thomson.
Mr Thomson told yesterday's board meeting in Invercargill the report suggested there should be concerns about the financial implications but did not outline the extent of them.
The management report reinforced his reason for seeking the financial analysis related to the National Health Board expert panel's August report reviewing health services for the Wakatipu.
The panel report said the changes proposed would be cost-neutral, but the financial analysis suggested the DHB would save almost $657,000 this year and this amount could rise to more than $1.06 million a year by 2018-19.
The DHB management report disputes the savings assumptions made, but does not offer alternative estimates.
Chairman Joe Butterfield said his interpretation of management's view was that the board did not really need to worry about the cost of the proposals until it looked at each particular activity.
He saw no point in going through the NHB report assumptions item by item at this stage because the board would have to have the discussions twice.
"We won't do it unless we can afford it. We will have to look at the cost when we look at each item."
Member Neville Cook said the expert panel had been "quite firm" in its assertion the whole "set of items" would be cost-neutral over 15 years.
Mr Butterfield said that was disputed and the board did not anticipate the panel's "prediction will be realised".
The board did not agree with the assumption that the board revenue would match the expected increase in population.
The board also had to make sure there was "fairness and equity" across the whole district.
Finance and funding general manager Robert Mackway-Jones said detailed information on the various aspects of the proposals was not completed. That included estimates on the incremental costs of the proposed new CT scanner.
Mr Thomson said he was not attacking management's view and accepted there was a need for more intricate work, but he needed to know the scale of reservations - were they in the region of "$100,000 or $10 million?"
Mr Mackway Jones said he disputed the savings of $800,000 in the second year of the proposals.
