At yesterday's board meeting in Invercargill, he said it was the board's responsibility to make sure the recommendations from the review fitted with its plans for the provision of health services across the district.
He did not consider it was "ever envisaged that we would be adopting all of the Queenstown recommendations carte blanche".
Member Kaye Crowther said she was not sure that was the NHB expert panel's expectation.
Mr Butterfield said that was not relevant now. The DHB had a job to do, and a duty, while the panel's job was finished.
He was commenting during discussion of recommendations related to the setting up of a panel to review where the CT scanner should be located in the Central Otago/Lakes area.
The NHB panel recommended the CT scanner be located at Lakes District Hospital, at Frankton, but Central Otago Health Services Ltd (COHSL), which runs Dunstan Hospital at Clyde, is keen to see a scanner based there.
At its meeting last month, the DHB said it would leave the decision on the scanner location to the communities to sort out, but yesterday the board agreed management should prepare terms of reference for a review of the scanner's location.
This would include appropriate input from the Wakatipu Health Reference Panel and COHSL, and wide input from clinicians, the meeting was told.
The review group would be required to have a recommendation for the board by June.
Finance and funding general manager Robert Mackway-Jones said management "very much want this to be a clinical discussion" involving clinicians from throughout the district.
It would be a matter of looking at the capacity required across the district, and recognising such aspects as the fact Oamaru already had a scanner.
Member Richard Thomson said he was encouraged by the move. The board had a responsibility to take the initiative and he had felt "very uncomfortable" about the notion a decision would "just happen".
In his report, Mr Mackway-Jones said the board would need to consider what level of funding it could provide.
Running costs for the Central/Lakes CT scanner could range from $270,000 to $450,000.
Costs would include radiographer time, radiologist reading time, a service contract, repairs and maintenance. Replacement costs would also have to be covered, unless further community capital was provided and this could add another $100,000 to $140,000 to annual costs.
• The NHB panel made 21 recommendations on the future of services in the Wakatipu including retaining and enhancing services at Lakes District Hospital, developing a centre of excellence for training rural health practitioners, a CT scanner at Lakes District Hospital, encouraging further integration of services in the region, increased aged residential care beds and more outpatient services.
